The Fight Starts Again (Discontinued)
by Scarlet Blue Frost
Summary: Erza has finally managed to escape most of her past, but now, new conflict arises. Someone starts to target the agents at FTBI, but who is it and why? (This is a sequel for Fighting My Past - Rated M for word choice)
1. Chapter 1

**I've finally stopped procrastinating and actually edited the first chapter, so I could post it! XD I'm glad I'm able to post the first chapter before my family vacation. Enjoy the first chapter!**

 _"Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible - it cannot be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform you in a moment, and offer you more joy than any material possession could."_

 _~ Barbara de Angelis_

Not too long after my father was arrested, Lucy joined FTBI, and we got a couple new members to our team. The team now consisted of: Jellal, Ultear, Meredy, Gray, Natsu, Lucy, and me. Sometimes Levy joined our team as well but that wasn't often.

Sitting at my office desk, I twisted the ring that was on my right ring finger. It has been a month since Jellal proposed, and I still remembered it clearly. He had proposed when we were on vacation.

 _We were at Akane Resort as a reward to ourselves for catching my father. Although, I didn't do a lot of the fun activities, like swimming or anything that would involve me needing a swimsuit. Wearing a swimsuit would just expose too much skin. Too many scars. In fact, I barely even wanted to show my face, which still had stitches in it. Jellal kept on encouraging me though._

 _"Erza, you shouldn't hide in the hotel room the entire time," Jellal sighed, "Don't you want to do anything?"_

 _"B-but-" I started. He knew that I was too nervous to do much, but he wanted to make sure that I was happy. Jellal knew for a fact that I didn't like staying in the hotel room._

 _"I already know what you're going to say, and I don't want to hear it," Jellal interrupted, "Erza, you look beautiful. Don't let your scars discourage you."_

 _When I hesitated, he spoke again._

 _"Come on, you'll have fun. I promise," Jellal grabbed my hand and pulled me off the chair that I was stubbornly sitting on._

 _"Alright," I sighed, hugging him, "Let me change into different clothes first."_

 _Jellal nodded, "I'll wait outside."_

 _While he left the hotel room, I went over to my suitcase, and I dug out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. After changing into different clothes, I brushed my hair and put on my usual knee-high black boots. With my head ducked down, I left the hotel room and awkwardly went to where Jellal was waiting._

 _"What's with the glum look?" Jellal asked._

 _"It's not a glum look," I argued._

 _"Sure looks glum to me," Jellal pointed out. He nudged my arm, causing me to look up at him, "You look less like someone crushed your cake when you smile."_

 _I laughed, "Well maybe Natsu crushed my cake already."_

 _We walked around the resort until sunset, only stopping for food once. Soon, we were at the end of a dock, sitting on a bench and watching the sun set._

 _Just as we were leaving, Jellal stopped. I turned around to face him just as he got down on one knee and pulled out a small velvet box with a ring in it. Joyful tears formed at the corners of my eyes as a large smile grew on my face._

 _"I've loved you ever since I got to know you. From the moment I met you, I knew you were the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Erza Scarlet, will you marry me?" he asked._

 _Unable to find my voice, I nodded excitedly. Jellal stood up, and I hugged him as tightly as I could, not wanting the moment to end._

I smiled at the memory of Jellal proposing to me. It seemed as if it were yesterday. For just a moment, it seemed as if nothing could go wrong; everything was at its usual. Jellal was in his office, I was in my office, Ultear and Meredy were most likely somewhere in FTBI together, Natsu and Gray were probably fighting in the cafeteria, and Mira was her usual cheerful self.

Meredy suddenly came into my office, worry clouding her usually cheerful eyes, "Have you seen Ultear?"

"No, I thought she was in the cafeteria with you," I responded, getting up from my seat.

Meredy shook her head; she looked as if she were about to cry, "I already checked there; I was in my office."

"Go ask Gray, I'll ask Jellal," I replied, nearing the doorway.

Meredy ran out of the room, to Gray's office, meanwhile I walked across the hall, to Jellal's office. When I walked in, Jellal looked up from the paperwork on his desk and smiled at me.

"Hey," Jellal greeted.

"Hey, have you seen Ultear? Meredy can't find her," I responded.

Even Jellal looked quite worried after hearing that, but before Jellal could respond, we heard Meredy yell at Gray, "What do you mean you don't know where she is? Nobody else does, so you should!"

It was rare for the pinkette to yell, so I was quite startled by the fact that I could hear her from down the hall. Judging by the look Jellal gave me, he was also quite startled.

"Please tell me you know where she is," I mumbled, a little too hopefully.

"Sorry. Has she checked Ultear's house?" Jellal asked. I could hear the worry in his voice even though he was trying to hide it. Normally Ultear would be with Meredy or causing trouble for Gray.

"Not sure," I shrugged just before Meredy came into the room.

"Um Jellal doesn't know where she is," I stated, "Have you checked her house?"

"Not yet, but that'd be a good idea," Meredy mumbled breathlessly.

"Jellal and I will go with you," I decided.

Jellal got up and followed us out of the building. We walked to Jellal's car; at some point, we had randomly decided that he would drive. I sat in the passengers seat, meanwhile, Meredy sat in the back.

When we got to Ultear's house and knocked on the door, there was no answer. Meredy tried calling her phone, that of which we could hear ringing, but there wasn't an answer. It just rang until it went to voicemail.

"Does she have a spare key anywhere?" I asked, turning to Meredy.

Meredy bent down and rolled up her right pant leg, revealing some duct tape with a key sticking out of it.

"Um..." I mumbled.

"She tapes it to me everyday, so I won't lose it. Sometimes I tape it on myself, so she doesn't have to bother with it," Meredy nodded, taking off the tape and grabbing the key. She stood up and unlocked the door, letting us in.

When we got in the house, we called for Ultear. Again, she didn't answer. We entered the kitchen and saw Ultear sprawled out on the ground, covered in blood. I rushed over and knelt down by her, checking for a pulse. Ultear had several large wounds on her body. There was one going diagonally across her back, a few down her arms and legs, and it seemed that there were some on her stomach. It also looked as if she were stabbed a few times in the arms and hands, and she had a couple small wounds on her face.

"Call an ambulance," I instructed Meredy, who already had her phone out, "She's unconscious, but she's alive. Barely..."

After quickly running to the bathroom and grabbing some towels, Jellal knelt down on the other side of Ultear and helped me control the bleeding. Only moments later, an ambulance was in front of the house and paramedics came in with a stretcher. I helped them lift Ultear onto the stretcher, and Meredy followed them to the ambulance. Meanwhile, Jellal and I stayed back to try and figure out what happened.

There were no signs of a forced entry. In fact, there were no signs that anyone else had been in the house.

"Do you think it could've been a suicide attempt?" I asked Jellal.

"It could be, but what reason would Ultear have to commit suicide? Plus, why would she want to endure that much pain, just to end her life?" Jellal responded.

"I don't know what reason she'd have to end her life, but I do know that some people tend to feel more relaxed when they put themselves through pain," I responded, "It's almost like when we first met. When you were helping the paramedics try to get me in the ambulance, and I stabbed myself. It was to put myself at ease."

Before Jellal could respond, the cops showed up. A female officer with long, blonde hair and light blue eyes walked over to us.

"What did you two find?" she asked, knowing we were part of FTBI because we had talked to her before.

"We think it could've been a suicide attempt," Jellal explained shakily. We both hoped we were wrong on that part.

"Who would want to go through that much pain just to end their life?" she asked, disbelief clear in her voice.

Jellal looked at me, almost as if to answer her question.

"Technically, she could've been subconsciously trying to commit suicide," I mumbled quietly. They kept talking for a little bit, while I stayed quiet and stood behind Jellal.

"Is it okay if we go visit her at the hospital?" Jellal suddenly asked hopefully.

"Yeah, we've got it from here," she nodded.

Jellal and I hurried out of the house and to his car. We sat in silence on the way to the hospital; we just couldn't find any words to say. What could we say though? We had just found our friend nearly dead in her house, and there were no signs of forced entry.

Once we were at the hospital, we ran inside. When I was just about to ask for the room number, we heard Meredy yelling.

"Ultear! You need to stay here!"

 _How is Ultear even conscious?_

We couldn't hear Ultear's response.

"No, you _aren't_ well enough to leave!" Meredy suddenly shouted again.

Jellal and I quickly ran in the direction of her voice. When we turned into one of the hallways, we saw Meredy standing in the doorway of one of the rooms, her hands on her hips. Meredy looked in our direction when she heard our footsteps.

"Oh thank goodness," Meredy sighed in relief.

"Shit..." I heard Ultear mutter.

Meredy stepped to the side and allowed me and Jellal into the hospital room.

"Ultear, I know hospitals suck, but nearly two hours ago, you were close to death. You're staying here, even if I have to strap you down to the hospital bed," I stated sternly. Usually, I'd be more understanding with her, but there was no way I would allow her out of her hospital room after she had nearly bled to death. Ultear would have to suck it up and stay there until the doctors allowed her to leave.

"Good luck," Ultear scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Do you not realize that you're currently missing a lot of blood right now?" I rolled my eyes.

"I do-" Ultear started but stopped as a doctor came to us. Ultear sighed, sitting on the bed in the room. The doctor looked at us questioningly but otherwise ignored us.

"Ultear Milkovich, we were looking at your hospital records and your parents-"

"That's what you're holding?" Ultear cut him off, looking over at the clipboard he was holding. I couldn't tell if she was curious or upset.

"Yes," he nodded, "We have missing information."

"Give me it." she held her hand out. He passed her the clipboard and a pen, and Ultear furiously scribbled something onto the paper. After she was finished, she simply set the pen on the clipboard and handed it back to him.

"But that's not-" he started.

"Possible?" she cut him off, "Deal with it."

"We need records-"

"What are you going to do, call them?" Ultear scoffed, "No you don't."

He persisted for a while, claiming that her parents needed to know she was injured. Every single time, Ultear refused to tell him anything. After a while, he gave up and left the room.

"Um... Ultear? What was that about?" I asked, although I doubted I'd get an answer. That of which I didn't.

"Nothing," she answered, looking at me like I was stupid. I knew all too well that no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn't get an answer from her. Ultear is the type of person whereas, if she doesn't want you to know something, she will make sure you never know it.

"Um okay... Anyways, how are you feeling?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Alive," she mumbled, "Duh,"

"Yeah... Obviously," I grumbled, annoyance clear in my voice. I guess she decided to be stubborn about everything; she probably decided on that the second I told her she had to stay at the hospital.

Ultear rolled her eyes, not caring how much she annoyed me, "Can I leave now?"

"No, you're still missing blood," I retorted. If she was going to be stubborn and persistent, so was I.

"So?" Ultear sighed, "I feel alive! We just went over that! Didn't we?"

"Uh... Yeah, but you still lost a lot of blood..." I mumbled in disbelief; was she really that careless or is there something else she doesn't want us to know?

"I did, didn't I…?" Ultear sighed. It seemed like she was giving up on leaving.

"Y-yeah..." I stammered, "You were kind of bleeding to death when we found you..."

"I know…" Ultear mumbled, looking down at her hands. For a moment, it looked like she had a bad memory flashing through her mind, but she quickly focussed on something else.

"Okay, uh... Yeah, okay," I muttered, unsure of what to say. Had I been this difficult each time I was in the hospital? I was starting to feel bad for the doctors.

"So... Ultear," Meredy butted in, "Do you remember what happened to you?"

"Yes," she answered bluntly.

"Um... Could you tell us?" Meredy asked.

"Yes, I could," she answered again. There was that stubbornness again, and that told me the other thing she didn't want us to know/

" _Will_ you tell us?" Meredy corrected herself. She looked at Ultear hopefully, but her friend seemed to have different plans. As in, she was determined not to give us an answer she'd be satisfied with.

 **(Ultears POV)**

"No, why would I do that?" I looked to them like they were crazy. Why would I tell them what happened? Wait, I _did_ know these people, right? Yeah. Pinky is here. Of course I know these people. I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

"Um... B-because we're your friends, and we want to know what happened," Pinky mumbled.

"Too bad, I'm not telling you," I replied. I did know what happened, right? Yeah... There was... Um... Well I do remember! Maybe.

"Ul-" Pinky started to protest.

"Nope, not telling," I shook my head.

"Okay..." Erza muttered, "Um, Jellal and I need to finish some stuff at work, but we'll be back later..."

Thankfully, they didn't say anything else. They just left. Pinky was still there though. In fact, she didn't leave almost at all. She didn't speak for a while after Erza and Jellal left. She just sat at the edge of the room, staring off into space.

 **(Erza's POV)**

I felt bad for leaving Ultear, but I didn't really know what more I could say. At least, I didn't lie. Jellal and I actually did have work to finish at FTBI.

"Jellal, what do you think happened to Ultear?" I asked while we were on our way to FTBI.

"Well, we thought it was a suicide attempt, right?" he responded.

"That's what I thought. I want to know what you think," I mumbled.

"Honestly, I'm not so sure what I think," Jellal sighed, "There's a part of me that believes it was a suicide attempt, and there's a part of me that thinks she was attacked. The latter is because of some of the injuries she got. There's no way she could've given them to herself, right?"

"You would think she would tell us if she was attacked though," I mumbled, looking out the window. The Ultear I knew would've yelled at me for not letting her out of the hospital; she would've been determined to find the person that hurt her and kick his ass.

Jellal nodded, "True, but Ultear is… picky to say the least."

"That's true..." I sighed, "I wish she'd at least tell us a little more..."

"I wonder if she's embarrassed," Jellal chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood a little.

I lightly laughed, "Could you really see Ultear being embarrassed? When she first found out we were engaged, the first thing she told me was 'make sure you don't get pregnant'."

Jellal laughed, "True. Anyways, we're here."

We got out of the car and walked into the agency.

"Hi!" Mira greeted, "I heard about Ultear... How's she feeling?"

"Alive," I responded.

"Um..." Mira mumbled, confused with my response. Usually, I'd give them a slightly better response than that.

"That's the response we got from Ultear," I explained.

"Oh, is Meredy with her?" Mira asked.

"Yeah," Jellal nodded.

I yawned and rubbed my eyes after realizing I was having a hard time keeping them open. Sadly, Jellal noticed this and turned his attention to me.

"Do you want to go home? I can finish the paperwork," Jellal offered.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"Here, you can take the car, I'll just walk home later," he reached in his pocket for his keys. Remember when my car got destroyed by my fathers friends? Well, I never got a new car; I enjoyed going to work with Jellal. Plus, we live together now.

"It's fine, I'll walk," I assured him. I didn't want to risk him getting hurt while he was on his way home. Not after what happened with Ultear; I was starting to believe more and more that she had been attacked.

"Let me at least give you a ride home," Jellal insisted. He was also worried about me.

I smiled, "I can walk. I'll be fine, I promise."

"Call me if you need anything," Jellal kissed me.

I nodded then left the building, leaving him to talk to Mira. Sighing as I stepped into the night air, I began my walk to the home I shared with Jellal.

When I was halfway home, I suddenly felt something hard hit me, knocking me to the ground. My head hit the ground, and I blacked out.

 **So... How was it? Did you like it? Honestly, I've been quite nervous about this first chapter... That's why I've been procrastinating. Anyways, please leave a review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I finally got the second chapter done! Well, I had it done a few days before now, but just today, I remembered I need to edit it and post it. I've been a little preoccupied lately, so I'm sorry about that. Anyways, enjoy chapter two!**

 _Fear stifles our thinking and actions. It creates indecisiveness that results in stagnation. I have known talented people who procrastinate indefinitely rather than risk failure. Lost opportunities cause erosion of confidence, and the downward spiral begins._

 _~ Charles Stanley_

When I woke up, I was in a dark room. I could feel a few places where I had wounds, but they didn't hurt too badly. My phone was sitting next to me, and when I checked it, I was surprised to see that the battery was in it and it wasn't broken.

Picking up my phone, I stood up to leave. Just as I stood up, a few FTBI agents came into the room, one of which being Gray. Gray ran over to me while the other agents searched the room.

"Erza, are you okay? What happened?" he quizzed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I nodded, "As for what happened... I don't know. When I was walking home, I got hit by something and fell, hitting my head on the pavement. Then, I woke up here, alone."

"Did you just wake up today?" Gray asked with a worried tone.

"Yeah...?" I answered, confused.

"You've been missing for a week," Gray responded, "The entire time, Levy was trying to track your phone. We got the coordinates forty minutes ago."

"Oh, where's Jellal?" I asked.

"He's been at the agency in denial that you were gone," Gray replied with a frown, "I don't think he's left the agency, actually."

I sighed, annoyed with myself, "I better go see him."

"You know he's not going to let you walk anywhere for a while, right?" Gray quizzed.

"I know, but he does it to protect me," I smiled, then left the building, and Gray followed me out.

"I'll give you a ride to the agency," Gray stated.

"Thanks," I replied, getting into the passengers seat of his car. Gray drove me to the agency and dropped me off at the front doors.

"Thanks for the ride," I repeated, then quickly went inside where I saw Jellal pacing back and forth in front of Mira's desk. Mira didn't look too happy about that, but she seemed to cheer up when she saw me - probably because that meant Jellal would leave her alone now.

Jellal must've seen me out of the corner of his eye because he suddenly stopped pacing and smiled at me. I ran up to him and hugged him tightly, burying my face against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and gently kissed the top of my head.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Jellal murmured.

"Let's go upstairs and get something to eat," I mumbled, "I'm starving."

Jellal brought me to the elevator, so we could go upstairs. I leaned against Jellal, so I wouldn't stumble too much. For some reason, I felt really dizzy; Jellal seemed to notice as well when we were upstairs.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jellal asked, giving me a worried look.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled, giving him a reassuring smile, "Just hungry, that's all."

"Alright, let's see if Mira made any strawberry cake," Jellal smiled, leading me to the counter of food. Before I could get any food though, Lucy noticed me.

"Erza!" Lucy exclaimed happily, giving me a hug. She had joined FTBI soon after my father was arrested. Lucy often switches between Mira's job and working as a field agent.

"Hi Lucy," I greeted, exhaustion in my voice.

"Mira made strawberry cake!" Lucy stated loudly.

I smiled, "Can't wait to eat some."

After getting a few pieces of cake, Jellal and I sat down by Natsu and Lucy. As I ate, the three of them looked at me worriedly and curiously.

"So... You've probably been asked this already, but what happened?" Lucy asked tentatively.

"Um... While I was walking home, I got hit, fell, hit my head, and blacked out. I just woke up today," I replied, annoyance clear in my voice. Couldn't I just eat in peace?

"Really? You were unconscious for a week?" Natsu shook his head in disbelief, "How hard did you hit your head?"

"I don't know," I responded.

"You should probably go see a doctor when you're done eating," Jellal suggested.

I shook my head and stubbornly responded, "Nope."

Jellal sighed, "You're really going to do this again? You did t7his after we arrested your father as well."

"And you didn't get me back in the hospital then," I retorted.

"Okay, no cake until you go see a doctor," Jellal moved my plate of cake away from me. I instinctively elbowed him in the stomach, but he didn't give me my cake back.

Leaning back in my seat, I folded my arms across my chest and pouted.

"You're meaner than Happy..." I whined.

"Hey, I'm not eating your cake, I'm just keeping it from you," Jellal pointed out.

"Too bad. Happy is better than you," I replied.

"Oh, so I'm assuming Happy proposed to you as well?" Jellal teased.

"W-well no, but that would be weird if he did... Plus he likes Carla," I mumbled.

"So, is Happy still better than me?" Jellal asked.

"You aren't making this easy," I complained, trying to grab my cake from him.

"Good," Jellal responded, holding me back.

One last try.

I rolled my eyes and stood up, "Fine, I'll go see a doctor... But only if I get to eat some of that cake on the way."

"Deal, but I'm not giving it to you until we're in the car," Jellal agreed.

Damnit...

Jellal got out of his seat and followed me back to the elevator, taking the cake with him. I tried to take the cake from him while we were in the elevator, but he threatened to drop it or even worse, give it to Happy.

When the elevator doors opened, I exited the elevator with my arms folded across my chest and my eyes trained to the ground; Jellal exited after me.

Mira looked up from her computer and laughed, "What are you doing to poor Erza?"

We stopped walking. I kept looking at the ground while Jellal responded,

"Making her go see a doctor,"

"Well, good luck Erza," Mira smiled, "and Jellal... Try to come back alive."

"Well I'm letting her eat the cake on the way," Jellal shrugged.

"Yeah, but she'll still have to communicate with a doctor," Mira pointed out.

"And she's the one who needs luck? I think the doctor is the one that needs luck," Jellal chuckled.

After a few more minutes of conversation, Jellal realized that I was starting to get dizzy again. He carefully guided me out of the agency and to his car, where he gave me my cake. I quietly ate the cake on the way to the clinic, and Jellal quietly drove.

I ended up not finishing my cake because I somehow got full, even though I hadn't eaten in a week. Almost too soon, we were at the clinic.

After checking in with the front desk, we sat down at the edge of the waiting room. As usual, I had my knees tucked up against my chest and my arms wrapped around them. I tried to ignore the doctors when they called my name, but Jellal lightly gave me a push towards the edge of my seat. I nervously glanced at him for reassurance.

"You'll be okay," Jellal nodded, "I'll be right here if you need me."

Taking a deep breath, I stood up and followed the doctor into a different room. After I told them what happened, they did a few tests.

While I waited for the results, I impatiently and nervously paced back and forth. Soon enough, the doctor came back into the room, making me stop pacing instantly.

"Okay so... There isn't too much damage due to you hitting your head, just a slight bruise. However, you were drugged, but it'll only make you drowsy or dizzy for a while, so I suggest not to do too much walking for twenty-four hours. And..." the doctor hesitated, "You're pregnant."

"What?" I exclaimed then quieted my voice and shook my head in disbelief, "No. You're lying."

"I'm not lying," she frowned.

"Yes you are," I retorted, "There's no way I could be pregnant. Nope. I've never even- Not with- No, I'm not pregnant."

There are only two words to describe what was going on in my head at that moment. Pure denial.

"Erza, calm down," the doctor interrupted my rant of denial.

I gave her a death glare, "How can I calm down?"

"Okay, I know you probably weren't expecting this and it's a lot to take in, but it's bad for your health to panic this much," she replied calmly.

"Really? I never would've guessed that," I muttered sarcastically, "It's not like anytime I panic too much, I start to hallucinate and hear voices."

Before she could respond, a new panic set into me.

"Holy shit... I can't tell Jellal. I can't. He'll blame himself like he probably already has for me being taken in the first place. Nope. Not telling Jellal," I ranted again.

I suddenly stopped ranting and looked to the doctor, "Can I give you a different phone number you can contact me with for medical information?"

"Y-yeah," she stammered, probably surprised at how my voice suddenly sounded calm. She went to her computer and quickly opened my file then got ready to type.

"Okay..." I sighed, "320-314-3738."

She typed my phone number into her computer, then turned to me.

"Alright, we'll call you about any appointments; if you have any concerns, just come to us. You can go now," she stated.

I nodded then quickly left the room, retreating to Jellal, who looked half asleep. Well, he was nearly asleep. I waved my hand in front of his face, causing him to flinch.

He yawned and stretched, "So, what did you find out?"

"There was no damage done to my head other than a slight bruise, but I was drugged. The doctor said not to do too much walking around for twenty-four hours," I explained.

"They took that long to figure that out?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah," I smiled, "Well let's go now. I do not want to talk to another doctor for a long time."

 _Although I kind of have to talk to one when I have my appointments..._

Jellal stood up, and we walked out of the clinic. The car ride home was absolutely silent. Neither Jellal, nor I said a word. When we got home, Jellal was the first to speak.

"Are you sure that's all they said? It took over an hour..."

"Well they did have to do quite a few tests to make sure that was all..." I mumbled, subconsciously covering my stomach with my arm. Jellal clearly noticed it wasn't my normal posture, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, we walked inside, and he got me some cake since I didn't finish the cake Mira made me.

I sat on the couch and ate the cake that Jellal got for me, while watching TV. Jellal sat next to me and also watched TV.

"Jellal," I whispered, "Would you ever get mad at me over something I can't control?"

"Of course not," Jellal responded, turning his attention to me, "Why?"

"N-no reason," I mumbled, "Just a random thought."

"Erza-" he started.

"It's nothing, I promise," I lied.

Covering my stomach with my arms, I pulled my legs onto the couch and leaned against Jellal. He put his arm around me, and I closed my eyes, listening to the steady beating of his heart.

Once I was nearly asleep, Jellal's phone rang, causing me to flinch. Jellal glanced at me before picking up his phone.

"Go back to sleep," he whispered, kissing the top of my head.

"It's fine, I wasn't asleep," I mumbled sleepily.

"Then go to sleep," he stated, "You look and sound exhausted."

"Just answer the phone," I yawned.

Jellal gave me a wary look then answered the phone, "What is it, Mirajane?"

"Oh... Do you have any idea where she is?" Jellal asked after a while, there was worry in his voice.

"Oh," he mumbled, "Okay, I'll be right there."

He hung up the phone, and I looked at him curiously.

"Um..." he hesitated, "Nobody knows where Meredy is."

"Wasn't she with Ultear?" I asked, sitting up, instantly alert.

Jellal shook his head and mumbled, frustration clear in his voice, "Not anymore. Mirajane is talking to the doctors right now, checking if they saw anything."

"We could go talk to Ultear," I suggested.

"You need to get some sleep," he responded, shaking his head.

"I'm fine, lets go talk to Ultear," I insisted, standing up.

Jellal sighed, "I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?"

"Nope," I forced a smile to help make him believe I was well enough to go.

Jellal grabbed his keys off the coffee table and stood up, "Let's go."

We drove to the hospital, and we may or may not have been speeding a bit. Okay, a lot. Within a few minutes, we were outside the hospital, and we could hear Ultear yelling.

"Where is Pinky? She said she'd be back soon! It's been an hour!" she shouted.

"Um... We shouldn't be able to hear her while we're outside," I mumbled as we quickly walked inside and to her room. Our walking quickly turned into a run though.

Ultear was glaring at a doctor, who was failing to calm her.

"Ultear," I started, getting her attention, "Did you see Mer- err... Pinky leave with anyone?"

She nodded, "She left with a tall man."

"Do you remember any specific details about what he looked like?" Jellal asked.

"He was really tall," Ultear stated, "and he had... Black hair, a-and blue eyes. No... Maybe they were brown… Or black? He had a scar by his left eye too… Maybe it was his right eye though?"

Ultear shook her head and began mumbling to herself.

I cleared my throat to get Ultear's attention again; she looked up at me expectantly.

"Did you recognize him at all?" I asked.

She hesitated, "I don't know. I feel like I should, but I don't."

Once again, she started mumbling to herself. I shook my head and exited the room with Jellal. Covering my stomach with my arm, I leaned against the wall and thought about the possibilities. Jellal gave me a concerned look, confirming that he noticed my sudden change in posture.

"What if it's the same person?" I asked nobody in particular.

"Could be," Jellal nodded.

There was a moment of silence, then Jellal spoke again.

"Erza, what are you trying to hide from me?"

"What? Nothing," I answered quickly.

"Really? So you're just changing your posture for the heck of it?" he tested, "The last time you changed your posture, it was to cover the fact that you had been branded."

"W-well I'm not hiding anything," I lied.

"Erza-" Jellal started.

"Let's hurry and find Meredy," I interrupted, "before anything happens to her."

Without giving him time to respond, I went back into Ultear's room to ask her more questions.

 **(Meredy's POV)**

"Please let me go," I pleaded, my voice weak.

The man who had his back to me, turned around to face me, an evil grin on his face.

"If I let you go, that would put your friends minds at ease... Especially Erza's," he winked and turned around to finish whatever he was doing.

Twisting my hands, I tried to struggle free from the rope that held my wrists together. When I finally freed my hands, I leaned forward and untied the rope that was around my ankles. Just as I stood up, the man that had taken me turned around.

"Trying to escape?" he smirked, "That's not good... Maybe you should get the same fate as Erza."

"What did you do to Erza?" my voice came out as a whisper.

"Want me to demonstrate?" he suggested with an evil grin.

"N-never mind... I don't need to know," I mumbled.

"Good, now sit back down," he grumbled, "before I change my mind."

Sitting back down, I tucked my knees up against my chest; it seemed to relax me a little bit.

 _Isn't this how Erza normally sits?_

Shaking my head to clear my mind, I looked around for an easy way to escape. I had no idea what he did to Erza, but I most certainly didn't want to stick around and find out.

"Drink this," the man handed me a bottle of water, "You need to stay hydrated."

I cautiously took the bottle of water from him. As soon as I took a sip of water, I spit it out.

I glared at him, "What's in it? It doesn't taste normal..."

He sighed, "Too bad you aren't already unconscious as well... That would've made it way easier."

Tossing the water to the side, I wrapped my arms around my legs and rested my head on my knees.

 **(Erza's POV)**

"Erza, why are you so on edge?" Jellal asked.

"I'm not on edge; I'm just trying to get my job done," I retorted, not even turning to face him.

We were currently at FTBI, in the cafeteria. Asking Ultear questions didn't work much longer than five minutes because she eventually stopped answering. Levy, Lucy, Gajeel, Gray, Jellal, Mira, and I were sitting at a table in the far corner of the room.

Levy was on her computer trying to track Meredy's phone, Gajeel was on one side of Levy watching what she was doing, and I was on the other side of Levy watching what she was doing, as well. Meanwhile, Jellal was to my right trying to talk to me. Lucy and Mira were talking in hushed voices about something, and that left Gray to listen to everything that was going on.

"You yelled at Natsu threes times already," Jellal pointed out, "because he apparently wasn't doing enough even though he did everything you told him to..."

"W-well he's Natsu. It's not right if I don't yell at him about something," I came up with an excuse.

Jellal sighed, "I know, but you've never been this hard on him."

Rather than responding, I tried to focus on whatever Levy was doing. I heard Jellal sigh, and Gray started talking to him. Apparently Gray talking to Jellal was just like Jellal trying to talk to me; it was nearly impossible to talk to Jellal at the moment. He wasn't willing to talk to anyone until he got an answer as to why I was being really moody.

After about fifteen minutes of not being bugged by Jellal, he nudged my arm, which caught my attention but not my full attention. I only briefly glanced at him then looked back to Levy.

"Erza," Jellal started.

I sighed and turned to him, "Fine, I'll talk to you... But can we go talk somewhere else?"

Jellal nodded, and we walked to the other end of the cafeteria, where almost nobody was sitting.

"Why are you so tense about this? I mean, I know you're worried about Meredy, I am too, but you've been... Well, not your usual self," Jellal spoke quickly, so I couldn't get a chance to ignore him.

"W-well," I looked to my feet, trying to find the right words. Eventually, I sighed, "I wasn't completely honest with you-"

Jellal's phone rang, and he gave me an apologetic look then looked at his phone.

"Oh crap... Director Makarov wants to see me as soon as possible..." Jellal hesitated, "Sorry could you hold that thought for a few minutes?"

I frowned but quickly forced a smile, "Yeah, we can talk later."

He gave me a wary look just before leaving the cafeteria.

"Erza, where'd Jellal go?" Levy asked loudly, excitement in her voice.

"Uh... To go talk to Director Makarov, why?" I responded hesitantly.

"No reason," she looked back to her computer and closed out of something as I walked over to them.

I shook my head, "Any luck on finding Meredy?"

"No, it's almost the same thing that happened to you..." she kept talking, but I wasn't listening anymore. My mind was focussed on the starting words she said. It would be terrible if it were close to being completely like what happened to me. Absolutely terrible.

Out of instinct, I wanted to harm myself again, but I had promised Jellal that I wouldn't; I planned to keep it that way. There was no way I'd consciously allow myself to break that promise. Although, a part of me wished that I hadn't made that promise.

My mind ran back to when he had first found out I cut myself and his angered voice when I had nonchalantly brushed off the fact of me harming myself. Then I remembered the hurt in his voice when I gave him a second chance to talk to me. I had wondered how it even affected him, but I'm starting to understand now; I just need to understand a bit more.

"Erza?" I just barely heard Mira's voice.

"Erza," Lucy was a bit louder than Mira.

"Hey Erza," Natsu put his hand on my shoulder, and when I flinched, I accidentally hit his stomach. His hand disappeared from my shoulder as he clutched his stomach.

"Sorry Natsu!" I exclaimed, "You startled me!"

"Yeah, I can tell..." Natsu groaned, "By the way... Mira and Lucy were trying to talk to you."

I looked at the two girls, who were sitting at the opposite side of the table from where we were standing; they were currently trying to hold back laughs. Meanwhile, Happy was trying to get Lucy's attention.

"Um... Did you hear anything Levy just said?" Mira asked, still holding back a laugh.

"Like the first sentence," I mumbled.

Lucy sighed, "She basically said that it's almost like what happened with you; we can't find any trace of where she's been for the past few hours, which will probably become days. Now Levy's going to see if Ultear —being as protective over Meredy as she is— put some sort of tracking device on her."

"Oh..." I hesitated, "Well that's possible. I mean, Ultear taped a spare key to her house to Meredy's leg... Who knows what else she'd do?"

"Yeah," Mira nodded.

"Well, I'm going to my office to work on this," Levy stood up, holding her computer in one hand, "Gajeel, come with me; you could learn a thing or two."

Gajeel groaned but didn't say anything. Instead, he got up and followed Levy to her office.

"So what's Jellal and Director Makarov talking about?" Mira asked.

I shrugged, "I have no idea."

"So what did you find out when you went to the clinic?" Lucy asked. being nosy as usual.

"None of your business," I replied defensively, glaring at her.

"It's just a question..." Lucy mumbled.

"Well, it's a question I'm not going to answer," I retorted, folding my arms across my chest.

"Erza, we're just concerned for your health," Mira frowned.

"Well I'm fine," I snapped, "That is, if you don't count the fact that I had been drugged..."

"Okay so there's that," she frowned, "What are you hiding?"

I shifted uncomfortably, moving my arms to cover my stomach again.

"I'm not hiding anything," I lied.

"Really? You always change your posture when you're hiding something," Lucy stated.

"Do not," I argued, "Name one time."

"When you used to cut yourself," Lucy answered, "you would always have one hand on one of your wrists."

"Did not," I retorted.

"Yeah you did," Natsu took a step away from me.

"That, or you'd hide your arms behind your back," Lucy added.

"W-well I'm not hiding anything this time, so mind your own business," I muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"Er-" Mira started.

"I'm going to go find Jellal," I interrupted, "See you later."

Without waiting for a response, I turned around and quickly walked to the stairs. I looked down at the ground, keeping my attention on the ground in front of me. Both of my arms were folded across my stomach, even though I tried not to have my arms there. On the way down, I literally ran into Jellal.

I lightly laughed, "Sorry."

Jellal smiled, "What's the hurry?"

"Avoiding Lucy and Mira's curiosity," I answered simply.

He chuckled, "Do you want to finally go home?"

"Yes, but what do you mean by finally?" I answered.

"We were able to go home an hour ago..." Jellal stated.

"Right... Well let's go now," I smiled.

Jellal turned around, and we walked downstairs. When we got to the main floor, we were stopped by Evergreen.

"Tell Levy you'll talk to her tomorrow, otherwise she'll keep bugging me," she glared at Jellal.

"What did I do?" Jellal asked innocently.

Evergreen just shrugged and went back to working on whatever she was working on. I looked to Jellal questioningly, but he was lost in thought. Rather than waiting for him to come back to reality, I tugged on his arm and started half dragging him to the doors.

"Jellal... I can't drag you and keep the door open, so unless you want the door shut on your face..." I started to step away from the door, still tugging on his arm.

"Oops..." I mumbled as the door shut on him.

"Ow," Jellal groaned as I held back a laugh.

After apologizing to Jellal a few times and him telling me I didn't need to apologize because it was his fault for being lost in thought, we walked to the car and drove home. The car ride home was silent; we were both thinking about something. Once we got home and were in the house, we finally spoke.

"I have something important to tell you!" we both blurted at once.

 **Cliffhanger! Muahahahaha! Don't you just love my cliffhangers? XD**

 **Anyways, sorry about not having Erza be missing for at least one full chapter, but it's kind of hard to write about someone being unconscious for a week. Well, thats it for now; have a nice day! Please leave a review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! Okay, so to be honest, I've had this chapter done for a while, but I didn't want to post it so soon after posting the second one. I understand that some of you didn't like what happened to Erza, so I'm just going to tell you right now that if you really don't like stories like this, just stop reading.**

 **Have a nice day!**

"I have something important to tell you!" we both blurted at once.

"Uh... You first," I quickly added.

"N-no, you first," Jellal stammered, he sounded a little nervous.

"No you," I insisted, "I-I need to think of how to word what I'm going to say.

"Okay um..." he hesitated, "I have to go to a different state for a while; I'm not allowed to say why or where I'm going though..."

"Oh," I mumbled.

 _Maybe I shouldn't tell him then; it might make him decide to stay..._

"Uh... What was it you wanted to tell me?" Jellal asked.

"O-oh it's nothing," I forced a smile, "So when are you leaving, and how long will you be gone?"

"I leave in five days, and I'll be gone anywhere from a month to a year," he answered.

I looked down to my feet and frowned.

 _It would be best if I didn't tell him..._

"Erza, what did you want to say?" Jellal asked again.

"It doesn't matter," I looked up and forced another smile, but Jellal frowned. I insisted, "It's nothing, I promise."

My thoughts were jumbled with worry and sadness, causing my natural anxiety to go up. Jellal could tell because I was digging my fingernails into my arm. What he didn't know was that I was doing that to prevent any hallucinations or voices.

"Hey, Erza, I won't go if you don't want me to," Jellal grabbed my hand, not wanting me to make myself bleed.

"No, you should go," I nodded, "Director Makarov usually doesn't trust you with much, so you should definitely go."

I sighed and walked to our room. After pacing back and forth for a bit, trying to clear my thoughts, I changed into a T-shirt and sweatpants. Jellal came into the room just as I laid down on the bed. He silently grabbed some clothes and went to the bathroom to change. When he came back, he turned off the light and laid down by me. As I tried to get comfortable, I thought about how I still remember how scared I was soon after arresting my father; I was so scared, Jellal ended up having to stay at my house.

 _It was only a week after arresting my father again, and I was still quite scared. Jellal had brought me home and made me dinner, but now it was time for me to go to sleep. I was still unsure of whether or not I'd wake up and be safe, so instead of even going to my room, I sat down on the ground with my arms folded across my chest._

" _Really Erza?" Jellal sighed, "You'll be alright, I'll be here if you need me."_

" _B-but…" I started to complain._

" _But nothing. You need to get your rest," Jellal interrupted, "I will make sure nothing bad happens to you, Erza."_

 _When I didn't respond, Jellal sighed once more and walked over to me; he held out his hand to help me up. I hesitated for a moment then took his hand, and he pulled me up off the ground._

 _Jellal brought me to my room and kissed me goodnight, "I promise you'll be safe."_

 _He was just about to leave the room when I suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm. Jellal looked back at me, confused._

" _Don't leave. Please," my voice came out a whisper._

" _Erza, I'll only be in the living room," Jellal stated._

" _Please," I tried again, tears forming at the corners of my eyes, "Just until I fall asleep?"_

" _Okay, but you have to actually be trying to sleep," he decided._

 _I laid down and curled into a ball, meanwhile Jellal laid down on his back, next to me. Without much hesitation, I moved closer to him and curled up against his side._

I smiled to myself as the memory stuck in my mind. Jellal was already softly snoring, but he had a rough day, especially with having to put up with me all day. Sighing, I frowned at the memory of my most recent problem.

 _I'll have to tell him eventually but… How will he take the news? Will he be mad?_

A few tears escaped my eyes, and I turned onto my side to curl up against Jellal. His snoring stopped, so I guessed that I slightly woke him up. I was almost asleep when Jellal's phone rang, causing both of us to flinch.

Jellal sighed and lazily grabbed his phone while I turned on a lamp. I suddenly remembered I had started crying just moments before, and I quickly wiped my eyes.

"Yeah, Levy?" Jellal yawned.

I could barely hear her, but she was talking fast.

"Wait, what?" Jellal jumped, "You found her?"

"They found Meredy?" I asked, suddenly awake.

Jellal shook his head.

"Then who did they find?" I frowned, crossing my arms.

"Um… Someone," he answered quickly.

I opened my mouth to respond but couldn't figure out what I was going to say. A few minutes later, Jellal ended the call, and I looked at him questioningly.

He shook his head, "You'll find out tomorrow."

"Why not now?" I replied.

"Because you're probably tired," Jellal answered.

I started to protest, "But-"

"Erza, you need to sleep," Jellal interrupted.

"I'm not tired," I lied.

"I think you actually are tired…" Jellal rolled his eyes.

I shook my head, "Nope."

He gave me a disbelieving look, "Go to sleep and find out tomorrow, or stay awake and don't find out at all."

I hesitated for a moment, "Fine…"

Turning off the lamp, I laid back down and curled into a ball. Only a couple moments later, I felt Jellal next to me again, and I curled up tightly against him.

The next morning, I woke up when I heard Jellal talking on the phone, however, I didn't show that I woke up. I listened to Jellal's voice instead.

"I know, but she's sleeping right now," Jellal sighed, "Plus, we aren't even sure how she'll react."

There was a long pause.

"Yes Levy, I know that. I hope you know that I do have a good memory..." Jellal mumbled.

Another pause, but it wasn't as long as the first.

"Okay," Jellal hesitated, "Can you at least wait for her to wake up?"

Jellal ended the call then walked over to me and lightly kissed my forehead; a smile tugged at the corners of my lips.

Once Jellal left the room, I opened my eyes and looked up at the ceiling. After a few moments, I sat up and stretched. Letting out a yawn, I got out of bed and sleepily stumbled out of the room.

"Morning..." I yawned as I entered the living room.

Jellal lightly laughed and walked over to me, "Good morning, Sleepyhead."

I wrapped my arms around him and sleepily rested my head on his chest. The steady beating of his heart seemed to calm me, but I didn't know why I wasn't calm in the first place. Maybe it was the stress I had heard in Jellal's voice.

Jellal kissed the top of my head, "Go get ready for work, I'll make breakfast."

Even though I nodded, I didn't move right away. I stayed right where I was. After a few moments, I felt motivated enough to walk back to my room and change clothes, by which I did. I changed into jeans and a dark grey T-shirt then brushed my hair and walked to the kitchen.

"Good morning again, now that I'm fully awake," I smiled.

"Good morning, Fully Awake Erza," Jellal teased, walking over to me.

When Jellal was close enough to me, I stood on my toes and kissed him. As our lips touched, I could feel butterflies in my stomach — like I would most times when I was near him. When we parted and I dropped back onto flat feet, I hugged him. The guilt was getting to me. I didn't deserve to be so happy with him, not at this point; I was pregnant with a kid that wasn't his.

I didn't deserve Jellal's love.

Subconsciously, I had hugged Jellal a little tighter. Okay, much tighter. Although, he didn't say anything at first.

"Erza?" Jellal caught my attention after a moment, and I could hear the breathlessness in his voice. My arms immediately dropped to my side, and I awkwardly looked to the ground. When I glanced up, I saw Jellal frowning.

"Are you okay?" Jellal asked, "You've been acting strange..."

 _'Tell him! Tell him now!'_ I mentally shouted at myself.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied, forcing a smile and looking back up at him.

 _That's not telling him..._

"Um, what's for breakfast?" I changed the subject.

"For you, strawberry cake. For me, well... I already ate," Jellal responded.

"What did you eat?" I asked.

"Eggs," he answered simply.

"What a great breakfast..." I mumbled sarcastically.

"Says the one that mostly eats cake for every meal," Jellal retorted.

I stuck my tongue out at him and grabbed a piece of cake.

"Let's go," I smiled, "I'll eat on the way."

"Are you sure? We can stay here a few minutes longer than usual," he offered.

"Yeah, it's fine," I assured him, "Plus, we can't be late for work."

Jellal nodded in response, already knowing he wouldn't get me to change my mind, he grabbed his keys, and we went out to his car, beginning our way to work. I managed to finish my cake in two minutes.

By the time we got to work, it was 7:30am. Rather than going up to the cafeteria right away, we decided to quickly go to my office for something.

Just as we turned the corner to the hall my office was in, we came face to face with Levy and a familiar woman with brown, scarlet-tinted hair. All of our faces had surprised expressions, but I was the first to move, not that I moved very far. I took a small step back and half hid myself behind Jellal.

Jellal half turned to face me, "Erza-"

He cut himself off when he noticed I was slightly shaking. I looked to him, then back to my mother. She seemed to be just as surprised as I was. Before anyone could say anything, I turned back around the corner and pressed my back up against the wall. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath; I could hear Levy and Jellal talking in hushed voices.

After a few moments Jellal came around the corner to find me.

"Erza," Jellal caught my attention. I looked over to him, frowning. Jellal grimaced and slightly shifted his gaze.

Before he could speak, I spoke quietly, "Is that really her?"

Jellal nodded, "Levy found out a few months ago that she faked her death."

Taking a shaky breath, I looked to the ground as tears formed in my eyes. Jellal lightly put his hands on my shoulders, and I just barely glanced up at him.

"She doesn't hate you, Erza," he whispered.

I bit my lip and wiped the tears from my eyes.

Jellal spoke again, carefully lifting my head so I was looking at him, "I understand that you've had it stuck in your mind that she hates you, but that's because you've been told that ever since you were little. The thing is... You need to forget what you were told after your mom left. Everything your father and his friends told you, were lies."

"Sh-she h-has every r-reason t-to hate me," my voice was shaky and more tears entered my eyes.

"Don't think like that," Jellal lightly scolded, "Anyone could think of anything as a reason for someone to hate them, but that doesn't mean that person hates them. I could come up with many reasons to make myself believe you hate me."

"B-but-" I started.

"But I know you don't hate me," he interrupted.

 _Although you should hate me... Even if I don't hate you._

The tears I had been trying so hard to hold back, poured from my eyes. I hugged Jellal tightly and cried against his chest. Jellal wrapped his arms around me and lightly kissed the top of my head.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled into his shoulder.

"You don't need to apologize to me," Jellal whispered.

Rather than responding, I tried to calm myself, but my breathing stayed shaky.

"Erza, you need to calm down. You don't want the hallucinations and voices to come back," he reminded me.

Too late.

I heard a hauntingly familiar laugh of mockery, and I slightly looked up. When I looked over Jellal's shoulder, I could see an apparition of my father.

 _'If you weren't so weak, this wouldn't happen,'_ my father's voice mocked.

I bit my lip, forcing myself not to respond.

 _'Oh, you're shaking!"_ another voice entered my mind.

Cobra. He was the only one of my father's friends that we didn't catch, which scared me a lot.

"No I'm not," I whispered, facing down again and tightening my grip on Jellal.

"Erza, don't listen to the voices," Jellal murmured.

More laughing and more mockery.

 _'You look so pathetic!"_ Cobra's voice laughed.

"I know I'm pathetic..." I whimpered.

Jellal tried speaking to me, but his voice was blocked out by the ringing and the other voices I heard. I let go of Jellal and pulled away from him, backing myself against the wall again. Sitting down, I had my knees tucked up against my chest, and I hid my face as even more tears fell.

I could hear that Jellal was talking, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. Suddenly, I could hear that Levy was speaking as well, but, again, I couldn't hear the words.

 _'Crying as usual. That just shows how weak and pathetic you are,'_ my father's voice grumbled, _'No wonder your mother left.'_

"It's all my fault," I mumbled.

I suddenly felt Jellal's hand on my shoulder, and I could just barely hear what he was saying.

"Erza, not everything is your fault,"

 _'What a pathetic lie!'_ Cobra's voice scoffed, _'How pathetic does someone have to be to believe a lie like that?'_

"Shut up, Cobra! I know I'm pathetic!" I cried, hugging Jellal once more.

The ringing had finally stopped, but the laughter and mocking voices hadn't. That was worse than the ringing.

 _'You realize that your mother left because she was embarrassed by how pathetic you were, right?'_ my father's voice taunted.

"If she was so embarrassed by me, then why is she here?" I mumbled.

The voices stopped at once, and laughter slowly died down. I slightly glanced up from Jellal's chest and saw that the apparition of my father was gone.

"Erza," Jellal started, and I looked up at him instantly, "You aren't pathetic. You know that, right?"

"Then why do I feel so pathetic?" I asked.

 _Because I wasn't strong enough to prevent anything bad from happening to me?_

"I'm sorry, I can't answer that," Jellal frowned.

 _It's true, isn't it?_ Keeping my mouth shut, I felt broken.

"Erza?" I heard a soft voice. A voice I thought I'd never hear again.

I stood up and helped Jellal up with me, not daring to turn around right away. Jellal slightly nodded when I looked at him for reassurance. Taking a deep breath, I turned around, careful not to lose my balance.

Suddenly arms embraced me as my mom pulled me into a hug. I could hear soft cries.

"E-Erza..." she whispered, still hugging me, "Y-You're alive..."

At the time, I couldn't find my voice, and after a few moments of hesitation, I returned the hug.

"I hate to ruin the moment," Levy muttered awkwardly, "but you guys might want to like go into an office. We're blocking the hallway."

"Right..." I mumbled, turning to face Levy and Jellal, "Um... You two keep trying to find Meredy, we'll go in my office."

"Alright, we'll let you know if we find anything," Jellal nodded, then he and Levy left. Meanwhile, I led my mom to my office.

When I was shutting the door to my office, my mom suddenly spoke, "When did you get engaged?"

"A few months ago," I responded.

"To the man you were with in the hallway?" she clarified.

I nodded, "Yeah... To Jellal."

We were silent for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry if I offend you, but... You're sure he's not taking advantage of you?" she sighed.

"He wouldn't take advantage of me, and I know he hasn't been," I frowned.

"How can you be so sure?" my mom asked, "I thought the same about your father then-"

I interrupted, "If he were taking advantage of me, he wouldn't have waited so long for me to wake up from a coma, and he wouldn't have had to have been forced to eat and sleep. Which I still need to thank Ultear for making him sleep..."

"Right. I'm sorry, I had no right to bring that up," she looked down.

"I understand why you brought it up," I sighed, "One, you're my mom, of course you'd worry about that, and two..."

I hesitated, "Father told me what he did to you."

She flinched the mumbled, "Oh... Um... W-where is he now?"

"Uh... He's in prison," I answered.

 _Or at least I hope he is..._

"He is?" Relief shone in her blue eyes.

I nodded, "It took a while, but he is."

She sighed in relief and became less tense.

"So... How have you been?" she asked awkwardly.

"Uh... Pretty well, other than getting beaten, slipping into a coma, and nearly getting burned to death-" I started nonchalantly.

"Wait what?" her eyes widened.

"Right uh... Right..." I couldn't think of what to say.

 _Idiot! You have to get used to the fact that these things don't normally happen to people!_

"You nearly got burned to death?" she clarified sternly.

"Yeah..." I mumbled, nodding.

"Explain," she instructed.

"W-well... A few years ago when father was hurting me I managed to get away from him long enough to call the cops, and he was arrested for that and crimes that I didn't know about at the time... Then around a year ago he got out if jail, and... And... Then a lot of stuff happened, one of which being him trapping me in the basement of Ravens Hotel and starting the place on fire when Ultear, Meredy, and Jellal got there..." I looked to my feet.

I waited for a response but didn't get one. When I looked up, I saw tears on my moms face.

"I should've never left you," she whispered.

"I'm fine now though. Like I said before, Father's in prison, and so are his friends," I added.

 _All except Cobra..._

Memories of him shot through my mind at once, starting at age 14.

 _I was very cautious around Cobra, more than usual because of the one time I saw him. It was the first time he had done that, and now, I was stuck in a room with him again. I can't remember why I was stuck in that room with him though._

 _Suddenly, I felt his hands just below my waist, and soon after that, his lips were on mine. I immediately pushed away from him, but his hands quickly caught my wrists._

 _"Let go of me," my voice came out as a whisper of fear._

 _Rather than responding, he began kissing me again. Everywhere. The next thing I knew, he was-_

"Erza," Jellal's voice interrupted my thoughts and I felt him lightly shaking my arm. He looked as if he were about to ask me the question he always asked me —are you okay?— but before he could, I hugged him tightly. He didn't speak for a while and just stood there silently while I softly cried.

"Erza?" he tried again, "What's wrong?"

I slightly shook my head and mumbled, "It's just a memory."

"Your mom's worried about you," Jellal stated, "She called Levy and said you randomly started trembling."

"I'm fine now," I lied. I wasn't fine. I wasn't anywhere near fine. Not at the moment.

"That's a lie," Jellal sighed.

"No it's not," I argued.

"Really? Then why are you still holding me using like half your strength?" he responded.

 _Because I don't want to lose you._

The words remained unspoken.

 **Thanks for reading chapter three! Haha... Yeah, I can't end this one with 'cliffhanger'.**

 **Anyways, please leave a review! No hate please! I'm fine with constructive criticism, but I don't want you plainly telling me what you don't like. You can keep that to yourself. If you don't like what I write, then stop reading the story. Simple as that. I'm the author, so I can write whatever the fuck I want; you are not in charge of my writing. I'm sorry if you think I'm overreacting, but I just can't handle any hate right now. I'm stressed out enough as it is.**

 **Sorry, but I'm kind of in a bad mood, and I'm really stressed out. Anyways, I hope nobody takes any offense to my rudeness.**

 **Please leave a review! I promise I'll put my bad mood to the side for any responses.**


	4. Author's Note

**Hello, Frost here! Well, duh… This is my account. XD Anyways, I'd like to start off by apologizing for the Author's notes in the last chapter. I was bit pissed off at the moment, and I had no right to take my anger out on you lovely people. I did not take any offense to the reviews you guys have left me. I respect all of your opinions very much, and I very well understand that not everyone will like what I right about. That's perfectly fine. You have the right to have an opinion. So, I'm sorry if I have offended any of you with my anger. I wasn't angry at any of you; I had just been dealing with a bunch of shit at home.**

 **Okay, I feel better now that I've apologized. Now, there will not be a new chapter today because stupid Google Drive isn't letting me open the document. I have been trying to open it literally all day. Anyways, I'll try again tomorrow. As for posting new chapters once a week like a usually do, I won't be able to do that. I can't post as frequently because school started up again. I am facing a lot of stress, and I have to deal with a lot of bullshit everyday, so please be patient. On top of all of this, I am trying to help a good friend of mine as well. He's been thinking about suicide lately, and I want to be there for him. I hope you're all still willing to read my story even though I won't be posting as often though.**

 **Thank you for taking your time to read this! Please keep checking for chapter four!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello! I was finally able to access the document, so now I can post chapter four! I don't know what the hell was up with Google Drive that led to me being unable to open the document, but I finally got it. That was an annoying couple of days because I couldn't even do any writing… Anyways, I hope you enjoy chapter four!**

I did get to talk to my mom some more that day, but she had to go back home early for work. She lived on the other side of the country. My mom really made a large effort to get away from my father. Then again, she was supposedly dead for a while, and I'd imagine it would be hard to be 'dead' when you're living somewhere where people know you well.

Four days after I found out she was alive, I was at home forcing back tears. The day Jellal left for a month or more. There was a part of me that wanted to ask him to stay, and there was a part of me that wanted him to go.

"I don't think I should go..." Jellal muttered, "You've been having more panic attacks lately, and we still haven't found Meredy."

 _I agree, you shouldn't go._

"Jellal, you should go; you don't get offers like this everyday," I responded, "I'll be fine, and if we receive any information on Meredy, I'll call you."

 _He should still stay..._

He gave me a wary look, "Are you sure? You've also been having nightmares..."

"Yeah," I nodded, "If I need anything, I'll call Levy."

Jellal sighed and finished packing his bags then gave me one last kiss.

"Are you sure you don't want to come to the airport?"

I nodded once more, "It'll be less stress."

"Okay, then I'll see you whenever I get back," Jellal hugged me. Moments later, he was out of the house and on his way to the airport. He left his car at the house because Director Makarov gave him a different car to use, so I would be able to get to work safely.

The second he left, I gave up on holding back my tears; I let them pour down my face. I wanted Jellal to stay, more than anything, but I couldn't take this offer away from him. It was too important.

My back was pressed up against the door as I cried into my hands.

 _'You dumbass, you should've told him! He would've stayed!'_ I mentally yelled at myself.

"But would he still love me if he found out?" I whispered through the tears.

After crying for what seemed like forever, my phone rang, causing me to flinch. I wiped my eyes and left to find my phone. It was on the counter, and I saw that Levy was calling me. I sighed and answered the phone.

"Erza, are you coming to work today?" Levy asked.

"Yeah...?" I responded, confused.

"Okay, and you should probably call Jellal, he's been trying to call you since sometime last night..." Levy added.

"Wait, what? What day is it?" I asked.

"Uh... Tuesday?" she replied.

"Oh... I didn't even hear my phone ring until you called," I sighed, "Um, I'll see you at work, Levy."

"Alright, see you when you get here," she hung up, and I quickly checked to see how many times Jellal called me. Twelve times. I called Jellal right away.

While I waited for Jellal to answer, I got ready for work. Once I was halfway done brushing my hair, he finally answered.

"Jellal!" I exclaimed then quickly added, "Hi, sorry I didn't answer your calls, I was uh...busy."

He lightly laughed and sounding relieved, responded, "Hi Erza. How have you been?"

"I'm fine, you've only been gone for a day and a half," I forced a smile even though he couldn't see me.

 _And I only cried the entire time you were gone..._

I suddenly realized that I had stopped getting ready for work, so I quickly started to change clothes while Jellal was saying that he still doesn't think he should be there. Jellal stopped talking when I let out a small scream of surprise as I fell while putting on a pair of jeans and dropped my phone.

After quickly pulling my jeans on all the way, I picked up my phone.

"Hi, sorry about that," I apologized right away.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Jellal asked at once.

"Yeah I'm fine, I just learned why someone shouldn't get ready for work while talking on the phone," I responded.

"Wait, you aren't at work?" his tone changed, and he sounded concerned.

"I uh... Slept late," I lied.

"It's one in the afternoon where you are..." Jellal mumbled.

"I slept really late," I replied.

"Are you sure you're okay? I can come home if you want," he offered.

"No, stay wherever you are, I'm fine," I tried to reassure him as I finished brushing my hair that I had forgotten was only half brushed. I added, "I have to go now, I'll call you later."

"Wai-" Jellal started.

Too late.

I hung up and quickly finished getting ready for work. Rather than driving to work, I decided to walk; I needed time to clear my mind. With my arms crossed over my stomach, I began my walk to work.

When I started focussing more on my surroundings, I realized that I was passing Wendy's school. I glanced past the fence bordering the school property. Shrugging, I continued walking. When I stopped walking, it was because I heard Romeo's voice. It was faint, but it was there.

"Leave Wendy alone already!"

Instinctively, I looked around to see where Romeo was. After only a couple of moments, my eyes rested on a group of kids in the middle of the schoolyard; Wendy and Romeo were towards the center of that group. One of the other kids said something and shoved Wendy, and Romeo put himself between them.

"I said leave her alone, she didn't do anything to you!" Romeo shouted.

Wendy grabbed his arm and said something to him, but I obviously couldn't hear what. She got shoved again by another kid, and what happened next, surprised me. Romeo turned around and punched the kid in the face.

"Romeo!" Wendy scolded loudly.

More punches were shared amongst the boys, and Wendy was stuck in the middle of it. I went through a gate that had only been a few feet away from me and jogged over to the group of kids.

"Hey, knock it off!" I scolded all of them.

They stopped hitting each other but remained glaring. Wendy pushed past the glaring boys and ran over to me.

"Erza!" she wrapped her arms around me.

"Wendy, are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, Romeo protected me. I only have a couple bruises," she smiled.

"He still shouldn't have started a fight though," I frowned.

"But they're mean to us all the-" she started.

I cut her off, "Yeah, and when I was in school, almost the same thing happened to me, but it was worse... I still didn't start any fights."

"That's because-" she started then thought better of what she was about to say.

Just then, the boys started arguing again.

"What are doing even hanging around a wimp like her anyway?" one of the boys sneered.

"Shut up," Romeo clenched his fists, causing me to move away from Wendy and quickly grab Romeo's arm.

"Romeo, I know what you're thinking, but you can't hit him again..." I muttered sternly.

He looked at me and frowned.

"Yeah Romeo, listen to the old lady," the boy standing a few inches away from Romeo laughed.

"I'm not old, I'm only 22," I retorted then shook my head, "Never mind that, leave Wendy and Romeo alone."

"Why should we?" he retorted.

"Do you really need someone to answer that question for you?" I rolled my eyes and slowly released Romeo's arm.

The boy glared at me and began to turn around, but he stopped and hit me in the stomach. Wendy, of all people, punched the boys jaw.

"Why'd you hit her? Can't you tell she's pregnant?" Wendy interrogated.

My eyes widened, "How did you find out?"

She looked at me funny, "I was just bluffing, but... Really? You're pregnant?"

The boy rolled his eyes, and he and his friends left.

"Uh... Nope," I lied.

"But you just-"

"Nope, you heard nothing," I retorted, taking a small step backward.

She narrowed her eyes, "Does Jellal know?"

I slightly shook my head and looked to my feet.

"Where is Jellal anyways?" Romeo asked.

"And shouldn't you be at work?" Wendy added.

"Uh..." I hesitated, "Jellal is away for a while, he's doing something for Director Makarov, and... Yes, I should be at work."

"Why aren't you at work?" Romeo looked at me curiously.

"Because I'm not," I retorted.

They ask too many questions.

"So... Why haven't you told Jellal that you're pregnant?" Wendy took a step closer to me.

"Um... Uh... No reason," I lied.

"So you wouldn't mind if I told him?" Wendy smirked.

"You wouldn't tell him though," I pointed out.

"No, but I would tell Levy, and she'd tell him," she smiled mischievously.

"Okay I haven't told him yet because... I-it's not his baby," I looked completely away from them.

"What?" Wendy exclaimed in disbelief, grabbing hold of my shoulders, "Whose is it?"

"I-I don't know," I admit quietly, "It happened when I was missing for a week. I was unconscious for the entire week."

Romeo and Wendy remained silent as they stared at me in surprise.

"But you can't tell anyone I told you this," I quickly added.

"Why don't you want to tell Jellal? I'm sure he'd understand," Wendy responded timidly.

 _I'm scared... That's why._

Those four simple words weren't spoken though. They were only thought.

"I-I better go," I mumbled then quickly walked away and finished my walk to work.

When I got to FTBI, Levy was waiting for me in the lobby.

"What took you so long?" she quizzed me right away.

"I walked," I shrugged.

"Jellal said he didn't want you walking," Mira stated from behind the front desk.

"What he doesn't know can't hurt him," I retorted.

"Erza, usually you respect his decisions," Levy pointed out, "Now you're like completely against him..."

 _Maybe that would be for the best..._

I shook my head, "Let's just keep trying to find Meredy."

"Oh, by the way, Rogue also went missing. He started working here at the same time you did; he's on Bisca's team," Levy added.

 **This is a short chapter because... Well, it just seems like a good spot to leave off. Anyways, have a nice day/night!**

 **Oh, just to remind you guys, I won't be posting as frequently because of school.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! It's been a while! School has been awful, but what can I do about that, right? Anyways, this chapter is long overdue, so I decided to post it today. To be honest, I have not gone through this chapter to correct any errors, so I apologize ahead of time.**

 **Well, enjoy the chapter!**

 **(Meredy)**

I could hear a faint voice saying my name, "Meredy, Meredy wake up,"

The voice kept repeating that phrase, over and over again. I could feel someone lightly shaking my arm, and I groaned, pulling my arm away.

"Meredy,"

"What do you want?" I grumbled.

Suddenly, I remembered Rogue was with me now. I opened my eyes and sat up, turning to face him.

"What is so important that you need to wake me up?" I asked sleepily.

"I think I found a way to escape," he whispered.

I was suddenly wide awake and shaking my head, "No. Last time I tried to escape, he threatened to do what he did to to Erza."

Before Rogue came, the person who took me revealed what he did to Erza, and that was something I didn't plan for myself.

Rogue frowned at my response, "I won't let him hurt you. I'll protect you."

I briefly hesitated, "What's the plan?"

Rogue quickly and quietly explained his well thought out plan. As he went further into the plan, I started to gain a little more confidence. The more confidence I gained, the less I worried about what could happen to me. Once Rogue finished telling me his plan, he patiently waited for my response, which the wait wasn't too long.

"Okay," I nodded, smiling.

Rogue stood up then quickly helped me up, and we crept through the maze of boxes and shelves. We didn't stop until we reached the bathroom, and when we did, it was to open a window. I peeked out the window and saw nothing but other buildings and road. Rogue helped me out of the window then crawled out after me.

We started jogging down the vacant road, but when we turned the corner, we came face to face with...

I jumped back immediately, "Cobra?"

Rogue stepped back by me, putting himself slightly in front of me.

Cobra smiled, "Hello. Tell me, how is Erza these days?"

I glared at him, "Why would you care?"

"Oh, Erza and I used to have a close relationship," he smiled, "Anyways... I'm sure you two should be inside, not out here."

Before we could do anything, Cobra roughly grabbed my arm.

He looked to Rogue, "You better come with me, or I'll hurt her."

Rogue nodded and followed behind me and Cobra.

"Run when I tell you to," Rogue whispered to me.

"Wha-" I started.

"I said I'd protect you, didn't I?" he smiled.

He didn't give me time to say anything. Rogue quickly kicked the back of Cobra's leg, causing him to fall, then he pried Cobra's hand off of me.

"Meredy, now," he gave me a slight push away, "I'll be right behind you."

Nodding, I began to run in the opposite direction. I suddenly tripped while turning a corner, but instead of getting up and running again, I got up and leaned against a building to catch my breath.

I didn't move until the sun began to rise and people started to come outside. Only a few people came outside that early in the morning, but it was better than nothing. I immediately walked over to the first person I saw.

"Um hi... Can you tell me how to get to Magnolia from here?" I asked shyly.

"I hope you don't plan on walking, you're fifty miles away from Magnolia. You're better off taking the train," the woman responded.

"Oh... Where's the nearest train station?" I timidly responded.

"Eight blocks east then about four blocks south down Marnt Street," the woman replied.

"Thank you," I smiled, "Um... If you see a man with long, black hair and brown eyes, could you tell him 'Meredy went back to Magnolia'?"

"Yeah," the woman nodded.

"Thank you so much," I waved goodbye to her as I hurried off towards the train station.

When I got to the train station, it occurred to me that I didn't have any money at the moment. That was a problem. Rather than deciding to walk, I walked over to the nearest people to me, a woman with light brown hair and a man with dark brown hair.

"Hi... Is there any chance you could loan me some money?" I quietly asked then quickly added, "I promise I'll pay you back."

The woman looked at me warily, "Don't you have money of your own?"

"Not at the moment," I admit.

"How do I know you'll actually pay me back?" she tested.

"Just trust me, I will. I'm part of FTBI," I responded hurriedly.

"Show me your badge," she retorted.

 _Shit..._

"I-I don't have it with me..." I mumbled, and when she gave me a curious, disbelieving look, I added, "It's a long story. If I don't pay you back within the next week, go to the police."

"What's your name?" her husband asked.

 _Shit... I technically don't have a last name..._

"Meredy Milkovich," I took Ultear's last name.

"And that's your real name?" he clarified.

"Technically not... The last name is wrong," I admit, "But they'll know who I am, and that's for sure."

The couple quietly talked together, and I patiently waited for their answer. While I waited, I looked around the train station to see if I knew anyone. Conveniently, I did.

"Gray!" I yelled, causing him to stop in his tracks and look around. When he was looking in my direction I waved him over. As he walked over to me, I smiled at the couple that was now looking at me, "I just found out my friend's here. Sorry to have taken some of your time."

"So you'll be fine now?" the woman asked.

"Yeah, thank you," I responded, and they boarded the train.

As Gray got nearer, I noticed the relieved look on his face. Once he was close enough, he hugged me tightly.

"I'm glad you're safe," he whispered.

I smiled, "I hope you have enough money, so I can get back to Magnolia."

"You're in luck," he smiled, releasing me. We bought our train tickets then boarded the train.

"What brings you here?" I asked.

"There was a murder," he responded quietly, making me choke on the water I was drinking.

"What did the person look like?" I quizzed at once.

"Uh... Black hair, brown eyes..." he hesitantly responded as my pulse went up, "Oh, and female."

"Oh thank the Gods!" I exclaimed, sighing in relief. Gray gave me a questioning look, and I added, "Um... The hair and eye color were the same as Rogue's. Speaking of which, I know where Rogue is."

"Well I was actually on my way back to Magnolia to go get some help for this case, so when we get back, we'll save Rogue," Gray nodded.

"Alright, I hope we get back soon... He helped me escape; I'm afraid they might hurt him," I mumbled.

"They?" Gray asked, "I thought it was only one person."

"So did I... Then I tried to escape," I frowned, "I know where Cobra is as well as Rogue."

Gray could see that the subject was starting to bother me, so he quietly told me, "Get some rest... It's a long train ride."

I nodded and rested my head against the window. Even though I agreed to sleep, I kept talking.

"How's Ultear doing?" I asked.

"She's fine," Gray responded, "Go to sleep, Meredy."

"What about Erza? Is she okay?" I quizzed.

"Erza's fine other than the fact that Jellal went away for a while for something for work," Gray replied, "Now, go to sleep."

"Are you sure she's okay?" I clarified.

"Yes. Now go to sleep, Meredy."

Eventually, I did fall asleep, but that was when we were almost to Magnolia. Almost as soon as I was asleep, Gray was shaking me awake; I flinched at first.

Without thinking, I hugged him tightly and cried. Gray hesitantly wrapped his arms around me and tried calming me down.

"Gray... I'm scared... W-what if we don't get back in time for Rogue?" I whimpered.

"We'll get back in time. Trust me, we will," he assured me.

Sighing, he added, "We better go otherwise we'll be heading to the next town."

I nodded, wiping the tears from my eyes. Once I let go of Gray, he led me off the train, and we began walking to FTBI.

"Can we visit Ultear at the hospital?" I suddenly asked.

"Not yet," Gray frowned.

"Why not?" I quizzed.

"One, we have a case... Two, we need to help Rogue," he reminded me.

"Right..." I mumbled.

The rest of the walk back was silent. Every time I thought of something to say, I decided not to speak. When we got to FTBI we went to the elevator without Evergreen seeing us. As we neared the top floor, I could hear some shouting. I looked at Gray questioningly, and he just simply sighed.

"Erza's been on edge since you went missing… Plus, Jellal went away for a while; he's doing something for Makarov. Honestly, I feel a bit bad for Natsu…"

"It's that bad?" I quizzed.

Gray nodded as the elevator doors opened. Nobody seemed to notice; everyone was focussed on Erza yelling at Natsu. I walked closer and pushed my way through the small group of people that had gathered.

."Erza, cut him some slack, would ya?" I smiled.

She stopped yelling and turned around. Relief washed over both Erza and Natsu's faces when they saw me. Erza immediately embraced me in her arms, meanwhile, Natsu quickly ran off and hid by Lucy.

A group formed around us, welcoming me back. Eventually, Erza pulled away and started drilling me with questions.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?"

"I'm fine, and I only scraped my hands a bit from when I tripped. I was conscious the entire time, and... I know where Rogue is. If they're still in that location," I responded.

"So you weren't hurt: physically, mentally, or emotionally, right?" Erza quizzed.

"Right, but we need to go back for Rogue right away. They'll hurt him if we don't," I replied, "Oh, and yes, it is the same person that put Ultear in the hospital and took Erza."

"Actually, Bisca and Alzack will be taking care of the case in Clover and getting Rogue back," Gray interrupted.

I turned and glared at him, "I'm going with them. Two people isn't enough because there's two people keeping him. Plus, they don't even know what building we were in."

"Two people? I thought it was only one," Lucy commented.

Shaking my head, I warily glanced at Erza and responded, "Cobra is also there."

Erza stiffened; she looked as if she could pass out right there. Her body began to tremble, but within a few seconds, she forced herself to stop trembling.

"Meredy and I will go with Bisca and Alzack," Erza decided.

Gray sighed, "Alright, then I'm going too. Let's go now so we don't miss the train."

The five of us left the building and went to Grays car, which is the car we decided to use while we were in the elevator. We drove to the train station in silence.

On the train, Gray sat with Bisca and Alzack to inform them about the case he had been working on, meanwhile, Erza and I sat across the aisle.

"You know how you asked me if I was physically, mentally, or emotionally hurt?" I started. Erza nodded and waited for me to continue, "I think I should probably ask you the same thing."

She froze then awkwardly looked out the window.

"He told me what he did to you; I know you were unconscious, but I'm sure you know by now. That's how he stopped me from escaping, but then... Then Rogue came, and he helped me escape but got captured again in the mean time. That's when I found out Cobra was there too," I rambled quietly.

"Don't tell Jellal," Erza whispered, "Please don't tell him."

"I won't. It happened to you, not me. You decide when you want to tell him," I nodded.

Gray came and sat by us before she could respond.

"So, we've decided that Bisca and Alzack will investigate the murder, and us three will find Rogue," Gray informed.

I nodded, and Erza leaned her head back against the seat and crossed her legs. Her gaze was locked on her feet, and her arms were folded across her stomach. Just one glance showed her uneasiness.

 _If she was uneasy about this, why'd she choose to come?_

Shrugging, I turned and looked out the window, silently praying for Rogue's safety. Everything seemed to pass by in a blur. One second I was looking at the setting of Magnolia, then the next, I was looking at the setting of Clover.

 **Thank you for reading! I hope you all have a great day/night! Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**

 **:-)**

 **I don't no why, but I'm in a really happy mood! My apologies for all the exclamation points! I'm excited for absolutely no reason! XD I think that means I need sleep... Well, goodnight I guess!**


	7. Chapter 6

_I am so sorry for not updating in forever! I've been going through quite a bit since school started, so I haven't really written anything at all! I feel terrible for not updating while some of you have been waiting patiently, and dammit, I still have to finish a story request for someone. Anyways, Merry Christmas everyone - although it's early! I won't have internet on Christmas, so I decided to post now._

 **(Erza)**

"We're here, let's go," I snapped, startling Gray.

"R-right," Gray stammered, "M-Meredy, could you lead us back to where you were?"

"Sure," she nodded and led us off the train.

Bisca and Alzack left to go finish the case that Gray had been working on. In the meantime, Meredy led us deeper and deeper into the town. She stopped when we were just outside an old brick building.

"Are you sure this is it?" I asked.

Meredy nodded, "This is definitely it. Erza, remember, Cobra is here too. I know it'll be hard, but try not to let him get to you."

I nodded.

 _It's going to be a lot harder than you think, Meredy..._

Gray led us up to the door. When he checked the door handle, I was surprised to see it was unlocked. He pushed the door open, and I quickly pulled him back. At least it made sense on why I pulled him back. I mean, the last time I was in this situation, I got stabbed. Twice.

He waited a few moments then started into the building; Meredy and I followed close behind. Once we were completely in the building, the door slammed shut, causing me to flinch. When we turned around, we saw Cobra blocking our path.

"Hello, Erza," he smiled, ignoring Gray and Meredy, "I was really hoping you'd be here. I see you've brought your friends with you, that's quite nice. You've brought them to their death."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he was confusing me, and I was starting to get nervous.

"You know what," the evil glint in his eyes startled me even more, "You don't have to pretend anymore, Erza. It's obvious now that you're working with me."

I rolled my eyes and turned to Meredy and Gray, "You two go find Rogue and that other asshole. I'll deal with Cobra."

"Okay," Meredy nodded and led Gray away from me.

"When are you going to stop pretending, Erza?" Cobra quizzed.

"I'm not pretending. I don't pretend anymore," I retorted, glaring at him.

"Oh really? So you aren't pretending that you're not pregnant?" he tested.

I flinched in surprise, causing him to chuckle.

"Erza, surely you know by now that I've been the one hacking into everything. What can I say? I just couldn't help but look at your hospital files."

He took a step towards me, and I took out my gun, aiming it at him.

"Stay away from me," I glared at him.

"You never learn, do you?" he quizzed, "I find it hard to believe that even after all these years, you're still the same vulnerable little girl who pretends she's strong."

"What are y-" I started.

He cut me off, "You should know better than to separate from a group in a situation like this."

Suddenly, I felt the barrel of a gun against my stomach. I looked over, startled, and saw a black haired man evilly grinning at me.

"Lower your gun, Erza," Cobra instructed.

Tears formed in my eyes as I let my arms drop to my sides. The other person made his way over to Cobra and stood next to him.

"Now, Erza, I'm prepared to make a deal with you," Cobra started.

"What now? Haven't you destroyed me enough?" I snapped, "In fact, you have been destroying me since I met you."

Cobra grinned, "You go kill your little friends that are in the other room, and I'll spare Jellal's life."

"Y-you want me to k-kill them?" I stammered.

"Don't worry, I'll be right behind you," he 'reassured' me.

I shakily turned around and walked towards where I saw Meredy and Gray run to. Just as I got to where they were at, they were getting ready to leave. Meredy and Gray were trying to support Rogue, so he didn't have to worry about worsening his injuries. When they saw me and Cobra together, they stared at me in disbelief.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered, raising my gun.

"I'm the one that's going to be sorry," Gray murmured, briefly glaring at Cobra who was behind me.

A gunshot echoed throughout the room, and there was a searing pain in my hand, causing me to drop my gun.

While Gray was talking to Meredy, I stared at my bleeding hand. Suddenly, Gray ran past me, but I just simply sat down where I was at. I flinched when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Sorry," Meredy apologized, "We need to get going. You need to see a doctor about your wound, and we need to get Rogue to a doctor as well. I currently don't care about the fact that you just pointed a gun at us, you're still my friend. I'm sure you had your reasons."

She helped me up off the ground then quickly went back to help Rogue. When we got into the main room, we saw that Gray had Cobra in handcuffs.

"How about we call Bisca and Alzack as well as an ambulance?" he smiled at us.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, the tears returning to my eyes.

"Hey, I'm the one that shot you. I'm sorry about that by the way; I didn't know what else to do. Jellal is going to be pissed when he gets back though," Gray responded.

While we were talking, Meredy had taken Grays phone and called Bisca and Alzack. I'm guessing that they weren't too far away because they got to the building about five minutes later. Before I knew it, I was sitting on the back of an ambulance getting my hand looked at. Eventually, once the bullet was out of my hand, they put stitches in my hand.

"Erza," Meredy walked over to me with Gray's phone in her hand, "Jellal wants to talk to you."

I sighed and took the phone from her. Holding the phone to my ear, I quietly spoke, "Hi Jellal."

"Are you okay?" he asked right away.

"Yeah. I only got shot in the hand, and it only needed thirteen stitches. It barely even hurts," I responded.

"Wait, you were shot?" he quizzed.

"Meredy didn't tell you?" I frowned, "It doesn't matter though. He had a good reason to shoot my hand..."

"Who shot you?" he demanded, "And why?"

I took a deep breath, "Promise me you won't get mad at him."

"I promise," he sighed.

"Gray shot me," I replied, speaking quickly, "As you probably know, we found Meredy... Well, Meredy found Gray. They came back to FTBI to get some extra help, and I found out she saw Cobra, so I went with."

I hesitated, "Jellal, I'm very vulnerable, especially around Cobra. Anyways, he was making me go kill Meredy, Rogue, and Gray. Shooting my hand was the only way they could stop me. I-I wasn't thinking straight."

"Okay... How was Cobra making you?" Jellal asked.

"He threatened to kill you," I mumbled.

We were both silent for a while, and I almost thought the call had ended. Then Jellal spoke again.

"Do you want me to come back home?"

"No, I'll be fine. You stay where you are," I insisted.

"Okay, but don't be afraid to call me if you want me back home," he sounded wary.

"I'll call you if I need anything," I lied. I had already needed him back since he left; I didn't even want him to go, however, I couldn't bring myself to stop him from going. He usually wasn't offered special jobs from Makarov because of his past, his past of being a criminal.

Before he could keep talking I ended the call. If he kept talking, there would be a chance that I'd break down and tell him the truth. There was no way I was going to allow myself to do that; I wouldn't want to hold him back from his opportunities.

I got up and walked over to Gray to return his phone.

"I'm sorry about what happened in there," I apologized once more, "I knew that Cobra would be able to get to me, but I still had you and Meredy part from me. I'm really sorry. Oh, and when you went after Cobra, did you see the other person at all? He has short, spiky black hair?"

"It's fine Erza, you don't need to apologize, and no, I didn't see him," Gray responded.

"Oh..." I mumbled, "Damnit! I suppose that's my fault for leaving that room..."

Meredy slung her arm around my shoulders, "Now, I don't think Jellal would want you to place blame on yourself."

"But-" I began to protest.

"Nope. I can't hear you anymore," she smiled.

Giving up, I sighed, "Can we go home now?

"Okay, but you're not allowed to interrogate Cobra," she skipped away to go check on Rogue.

Gray began to follow her then stopped and looked back at me, "Before you ask, I'm not allowing you to interrogate him either."

After a moment of hesitation, I groaned and followed Gray and Meredy. I was curious about how Rogue was doing; he got some pretty bad injuries. As I got nearer, I could just barely make out what Meredy was saying.

"... sorry. If I hadn't... You... Injured... Badly," her voice kept fading in and out.

"Quit apologizing. If you hadn't have left, I'd still be injured just as bad or even worse. If you had stayed with me, they would've tried to injure you too, and I wouldn't allow that. It was my idea to escape, and I said I'd protect you," Rogue replied.

I smiled and leaned against the side of the ambulance.

 _Maybe I should call Jellal back and have him come home... He'd be able to help me with everything I've been going through._

Only allowing a brief hesitation, I shook my head and mentally scolded myself.

 _I am not taking him away from his job!_

Meredy, Gray, and I took the train back to town while Bisca and Alzack took a rental car since they had Cobra. When we got into town, Gray suggested that I go home to rest; I tried protesting but it didn't work. I ended up at my house, blankly staring at the wall.

 _Thank you for reading this chapter! Again, I'm sorry for the really late update, and I hope you can forgive me! Oh, and sorry for this being a short chapter. Personally, I also think this chapter is quite shitty, and I might rewrite it. I don't know though. Leave a review and let me know what you thought of it._

 _Again, Merry Christmas everyone!_


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, I'm back again! I'm still really sorry about the infrequent updates. I've been dealing with a lot of shit lately, but I think I'm getting better. Anyways, this chapter is one of my shortest chapters... Sorry about that. Well, enjoy the chapter!**

A few days after we arrested Cobra, Meredy and I visited Ultear at the hospital. Ultear was overjoyed to see Meredy again, and she wasn't calling her 'Pinky' anymore. She was starting to get some of her memories back but nothing about what happened to her that day.

Gray arrived at the hospital twenty minutes after we did. Even though Ultear teased him and ignored him, he still worried about her. As soon as he walked in the room though, the teasing began, leaving Meredy and me at the edge of the room laughing.

While those three talked to each other, a doctor peeked in the room then asked if he could talk to me. I nodded and followed him out of the room.

"We still don't know the names of Ultears parents," the doctor began, "Could you see if you could get her to tell you? We think her family deserves to know what has happened to her."

"I can try, but I can't guarantee it," I responded then mumbled to myself, "Maybe I should have Meredy try to find out... Or Gray."

With that, I went back into Ultears hospital room and quietly talked to Gray while Meredy teased Ultear. Even Gray seemed unsure about pushing Ultear to give us answers.

He decided to try anyways, "Um... Ultear, sorry to interrupt, could I ask you a quick question?"

"Sure," she responded with a smile.

"Uh... What are your parents names? It would be best if we could contact the-" he spoke quickly but didn't get to finish speaking anyways.

"That's none of your business," Ultear snapped, her smile falling.

 _Maybe I should help Gray a little bit..._

"But wouldn't your parents want to kno-" I started quietly.

Ultear glared at me, "No."

"It could help us figure ou-" I began again.

"No. It won't be of any help," she interrupted once more.

"You don't know that for sure," I looked down to my feet, unsure of what else to say.

Before she could respond, Gray added, "You never know what a criminal is thinking."

"Just shut up, okay? I don't want to fucking tell you their names!" she shouted.

"Alright... Sorry," I backed out of the room and leaned against the wall. I could tell that Gray kept trying anyways because there was more shouting that spilled out of the room and into the halls. Eventually, I decided to leave the hospital and go back to FTBI.

When I got back to FTBI, I went straight to Levy's office. I knocked on the door and opened it. Levy looked up from her computer when I entered, and she smiled at me.

"Hi Erza!"

"Hi Levy," I smiled back, "Is there any chance you could figure out who Ultears parents are? Preferably before she puts Gray in the hospital."

"Yeah, I should be able to," she started typing some stuff in her computer.

A few moments later, Levy had a frown on her face; I walked over to see what was troubling the bluenette. There appeared to be no record of Ultear's parents.

"Well... That went well," I sighed, "Thanks for trying, Levy."

With that, I left her office and went up to the cafeteria. I really wasn't sure what to do without Jellal there with me. There was nothing I could do to figure out Cobra's intentions because nobody would allow me to interrogate Cobra. Instead, I was left to just sit around and wait for Gray to come back from being yelled at by Ultear.

Sighing, I laid my head down on the table in the cafeteria and fell asleep.

 _Was I here alone? No... They were jerks, not idiots. Where was everyone though?_

 _I wandered the halls of the abandoned hotel, but I couldn't find anyone. After checking every room on the top floor, I sat down with my back against the wall and stared at the ground. They would punish me if they found out I tried to sneak off, so that was out of the picture._

 _When I heard footsteps, I glared in the direction they were coming from; I had a good guess on who it was. It was Cobra. He had his usual cocky grin as he walked over to me._

 _"There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you, Sweetie," he cooed._

 _"I told you not to call me that," I responded quietly, "Leave me alone."_

 _"Um... No," he shrugged, grabbing my hand._

 _I looked up at him, clear panic in my eyes. He laughed and pulled me back to my room. I knew what was about to happen next; it always happened at this hotel. It was the worst kind of torture I could think of._

Suddenly, I flinched awake; my breathing was rapid, and I was trembling.

"At least, I didn't scream," I whispered to myself.

"Erza, are you okay?" Meredy's voice sounded behind me.

I flinched once more and turned around, "Oh, hi. You're back from the hospital? That's great. How'd it go? Get anything from Ultear?"

"It was okay. We didn't get any answers though. Now... Are you okay?" she pressed.

Why was she so persistent?

"I-I'm fine. I think I'm going to go home early today though; I'm not feeling very well," I terribly lied.

"If you're not feeling well, then you're not 'fine'," Meredy argued, "Want me to go with you?"

"N-No... No, it's alright. I can manage on my own.

"Okay..." Meredy mumbled, "I hope you feel better soon."

I quickly got up and left the building. How much longer until Jellal got back?

 **So this was a really short chapter, and I apologize for that. Geez, my chapters are getting shorter and shorter. Sorry about that. Anyways, I'll try to update again next week, but I can't guarantee it.**

 **Have a good night/day!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Yay another chapter! I'm so happy to finally be writing again! Sorry it's been taking a long time to post new chapters. I'll be working harder to get chapter done now!**

It had been a month since we arrested Cobra, and I still wasn't allowed to interrogate him. In fact, nobody had interrogated him yet. He just sat in a prison cell everyday, waiting to be interrogated.

Even after a month, I still refused to call Jellal and ask him to come home. He still didn't even know I was pregnant, and it was starting to become slightly obvious. It could easily be mistaken as me eating slightly too much cake though. Jellal did his job wherever he was, and I did my job. It was all so simple for me. Well, that's stretching the truth way too far. I had recurring nightmares every night, I was pregnant with a child that wasn't my fiancé's, I had stitches in my hand, and I just needed someone there for me.

Speaking of the recurring nightmares, this chapter starts off with me dreaming.

 _After being beaten for what seemed like forever, I was finally alone on the ground with my back against the wall, knees tucked against my chest, face buried in my knees, and my arms wrapped over my head. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks, and I pressed my face tighter into my knees to muffle my sobs._

 _Suddenly, I heard footsteps coming toward me. When they were only a couple feet away, I quickly scooted to the side, expecting to hear the smash of a beer bottle against the wall. There was no sound of shattering glass._

 _I flinched when I felt a hand on my shoulder, and the hand quickly disappeared. Cautiously, I looked up and saw someone I had never seen before. He looked as if he were just a few years older than me. Feeling wary about him, I scooted to the side again._

 _"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you like they did," he whispered, "I'm going to help you get out of here."_

 _"Who are you?" I shakily asked._

 _"I'm Cobra. Your father wants me to hurt you, but I'm not going to."_

 _"He'll kill you if he finds out," I mumbled._

 _"Come with me. He won't find out, I promise," Cobra held out his hand, and I tentatively took it._

 _He helped me off the ground then put his arm around my shoulders, holding me close. We quietly went to a different floor, one I was rarely on, and he led me to what I assumed could be his room._

 _Later, I found out it actually was his room._

 _"You can hide in here for now. Your father and Rusty Rose are going to the bar in a couple minutes," Cobra slightly smiled._

 _"You promise you'll help me?" the fear echoed in my voice._

 _"I promise, Sweetie,"_

 _We sat down on his bed and-_

For the fact that what happened next would be awkward to write, I'm just going to skip to the next scene of the dream.

 _I ran out of Cobra's room crying; I ran all the way to my room then locked the door behind me. Sitting next to the door, I sat in the same position I had been in when Cobra had found me, and I cried for hours._

 _Eventually, I cried so much that I threw up, so I had to leave my room to get the cleaning supplies. Soon after I exited my room, I ran into Cobra again._

 _I jumped back, "S-stay away from me."_

 _He just simply laughed, "It was hard for me to believe that you were so vulnerable until I met you! Your father said it would be easy to manipulate someone like you, and he was 100% correct. And now look at you... You're a scared, pathetic, worthless little girl."_

 _Tears rolled down my face once more, and I whispered, "Don't forget, I'm also a freak."_

 _Cobra laughed even more, "Yes, you're a freak. You're a scared, pathetic, worthless, freakish little vulnerable girl. And you're mine for another hour."_

Suddenly, I jolted awake, letting out a scream; I already had tears in my eyes, and my sobs were nowhere near quiet. I sat in bed crying for about twenty minutes before I realized that I was being held in a familiar comforting embrace. When I looked over, I was surprised but glad to see Jellal.

"What are you doing here?" I whimpered, burying my face against his shoulder.

"Meredy called me," he responded quietly, "Don't worry, I made my own decision to leave. I was told that you haven't been getting a lot of sleep, and I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Thank you," I barely managed to whisper, "Thank you for coming home."

I cried against his shoulder for about another hour. When I finally calmed down, Jellal slowly let go of me then crawled onto the bed and sat next to me. He put his arm around me, and I cuddled up against his side.

"Erza, how long have your nightmares been this bad?" Jellal asked softly.

"Since a week before you left," I sighed.

"Why didn't you tell me? I could've stayed," he frowned.

"That's why I didn't tell you; I didn't want to hold you back," I hid my face in my knees.

"Look at me, Erza," Jellal slightly shifted.

I just barely looked up at him, and he lifted my head more to prevent me from immediately hiding my face again.

"I won't ever blame you for the outcome of my decisions. Yes, you are a portion of the reasons I make my decisions, but it's not all you," Jellal leaned over and kissed me.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," I whispered when he pulled back.

"It's alright, you don't need to apologize. I just want you to know that you don't need to be afraid of holding me back," he smiled, "Now, about you getting shot a month ago... How's your hand healing?"

I held out my hand for him to see, "I kept on accidentally breaking the stitches open, and Gray kept making go back to the doctor to get more."

"How'd you manage to break them open so many times?" he asked, looking at my wound that was very slowly healing.

"W-Well... In the middle of the night, I'd randomly freak out. Plus, sometimes I'd wake up and imagin-" I stopped mid-sentence and hesitated, "And imagine that my father were still here."

 _No, I'd imagine that Cobra was here._

Jellal could tell that it was a topic I wanted to avoid, so he changed the topic, "How's Ultear doing?"

"She's almost allowed out of the hospital now, and she has nearly all her memories back. The only memories she's missing are what all happened to her that day. Also, she still won't give anyone any information on her parents. She nearly ripped Gray's head off when he asked _for_ the doctors. Who knows what made the doctors too scared to ask her," I rambled.

We stayed up talking to each other until it was time for us to get ready for work. According to Jellal, I had woken up at 3:00am, so we had talked for around four hours.

After I brushed my hair and changed into jeans and a black T-shirt, I sat in the living room, waiting for Jellal. He entered the living room a few minutes after I did, and he sat next to me on the couch.

"You were talking in your sleep," Jellal suddenly commented.

I froze for a moment then nervously asked, "What did I say?"

"I couldn't make out the words. It was soon before you woke up though," he kissed my cheek.

Calming down a bit, I stood up and straightened out my shirt, "Shall we go to work now?"

Before he could respond, I felt really nauseous and ran to the bathroom. Almost the second I got in the bathroom, I threw up in the sink. Jellal came in behind me and asked what he could do to help. I just shook my head slightly before throwing up again. A few minutes later, I stopped vomiting and sat up from my slouching position over the sink.

"Are you okay?" Jellal asked almost hesitantly.

"Y-yeah," I cringed as the taste of vomit lingered in my mouth.

"Okay... I'll clean the sink while you go get something to drink," he responded.

"It's fine, I can clean the sink-" I began to protest. Jellal grabbed me by the shoulders and carefully directed me out of the bathroom.

"I'll take care of the sink," he assured me.

I nodded and walked out to the kitchen. After checking the cabinet for cups and finding none, I looked in the dishwasher to find that they were all still dirty. Sighing, I turned on the kitchen sink and drank straight from the faucet.

Jellal came into the kitchen just after I finished drinking some water. He lightly kissed my forehead, "Shall we go to work now, or do you feel like you need to stay home?"

"Let's go to work, I'm feeling much better now," I forced a smile.

Jellal nodded, and he followed me out of the house. I tossed him his car keys before getting in the passenger's seat. Most of the drive to FTBI was silent, but I spoke when we were near.

"Am I allowed to interrogate Cobra? Meredy and Gray wouldn't let me, and nobody has interrogated him yet."

"Yes," Jellal started.

"Good, can you make sure Meredy and Gray know you said 'yes'?" I responded.

"On one condition," he continued, "You can interrogate him as long as you'll allow me to be in there with you."

"Fine," I sighed, "Thank you."

We pulled into the parking lot then walked to the building.

"By the way, nobody knows I came back yet," Jellal stated.

I smiled, "Well this will be a surprise for them."

Just as we entered the building, we heard an excited shriek of surprise.

"Jellal! You're back!" Meredy ran over and hugged him.

"Welcome back, Jellal," Mira smiled from behind the front desk.

"Hi, thank you," he looked down, "Meredy, you have a really tight grip right now, and it's getting hard to breathe."

"Sorry!" she jumped back and smiled at him, "Did you hear that Ultear's almost allowed out of the hospital?"

"Yeah, Erza told me. That's great though," Jellal responded, "Oh, and yes, Erza is allowed to interrogate Cobra now as long as I'm there with her."

"Alright. Do you want to do that now or later?" she slightly tilted her head.

I looked to Jellal curiously; after all, it was partially his choice too.

"Let's wait a little longer, I want to say 'hi' to everyone first," Jellal decided, "Is that okay with you Erza?"

"Yeah," I smiled.

Meredy started to walk toward the elevator, and we trailed behind her.

She called back to Jellal, "I think you need to talk to Erza again about apologizing too much."

Jellal looked to me questioningly, and I awkwardly looked to the ground.

"I had a good reason to apologize that time," I mumbled, "I was apologizing for nearly killing them because some asshole from my past knew how vulnerable I am, and he took advantage of that."

"But... You're the one that got shot, and didn't you say he threatened someone's life?" Jellal pointed out.

"Not just someone's life, _your_ life," I replied.

Jellal sighed, "Okay, I can see why you apologized, but I'm sure they understand."

Meredy, Jellal, and me took the elevator to the top floor, so we could talk to mostly everyone else. As soon as we got off the elevator, Natsu stopped what he was doing and hid behind Lucy.

"I promise I didn't do anything this time, Erza!" he exclaimed nervously. When Natsu saw Jellal by me, he calmed down a bit, and I laughed.

Jellal looked at me questioningly, but before I could respond, Gray came over to talk to him.

"Hey Jellal, welcome back. I'm sorry about shooting Erza's hand by the way," Gray stated.

"No hard feelings," Jellal responded, "Erza already explained it to me."

We sat down at the same table that Natsu and Lucy were at.

"Jellal, you aren't allowed to leave again," Natsu stated, "Erza gets really scary when you're gone."

"I wasn't _that_ scary," I argued before Jellal could respond.

"That's easy for you to say," Lucy mumbled, "Ow! Erza, why'd you kick me?"

I smiled innocently, "What are you talking about, Lucy? I didn't do anything."

Lucy looked at Jellal and whined, "Make her be nice!"

Jellal sighed and put his arms around me, pulling me close, and he kissed me. He pulled back, and I tried to lean in to kiss him. However, Jellal held me away from him, "Nope, not until you promise to be nice."

I pouted and looked at Lucy, "I guess I'll be nice..."

Immediately, I looked back at Jellal, but he shook his head, "You'll have to mean it."

Turning back to Lucy, I sighed, "I'll be nice to you now."

When I turned back towards Jellal, he moved his hands, and I gladly leaned in and kissed him. I rested my head on his chest and listened as he and the others had a conversation. My only mistake then was falling asleep.

 _It's been a few weeks since Cobra last... Paid a visit to my room. That's the longest he's gone without being near me. Maybe he left for good? Cautiously, I left my room and went to the kitchen to make dinner._

 _"Erza, make some extra food, we're having a couple guests tonight!" my father shouted to me from the living room._

 _"Rusty Rose and...?" I mumbled, "Who else is friends with them?"_

 _When I finished making dinner, I dished up four plates and set them out on the table._

 _"Food's ready!" I called to my father and his friends then took my usual spot at the table._

 _Once the three of them came in the room, I immediately froze._

 _"Cobra, you can sit by Erza," my father gestured toward me._

 _"What?" I exclaimed, "Why can't he sit by Rusty Rose?"_

 _"Erza, shut up and be nice to our guest," my father growled._

 _"Why should I? It's not like it's his first time here!" I protested._

 _My father gave me the look that said I was going to be in big trouble later, so I stopped talking and awkwardly looked down at my hands._

 _A few minutes later, I was silently picking at my food and my father grumbled, "Eat your food, Erza."_

 _"I-I'm not really hungry," I whispered._

 _"Then go back to your room," he retorted,"Or... Actually, you can show Cobra around the house."_

 _"I really can't," I quickly replied, "I-I have a lot of homework to do."_

 _"Sucks to be you," my father retorted, "Now, go."_

 _Sighing, I got up and led Cobra out of the room. I folded my arms across my chest and walked to the floor that my room was on. Then suddenly, I was shoved against a wall, and Cobra grabbed my wrists so I wouldn't be able to hit him._

"Erza," Jellal shook my arm. I flinched, and I could feel my body trembling; I buried my face against Jellal's chest as I felt tears return to my eyes. He put his arms around me and lightly kissed the top of my head. He whispered so the others couldn't hear, "Erza, it's okay. You're safe now."

I slightly nodded and bit my lip. Wiping my eyes, I sat up straight and stretched.

"Are you okay?" Jellal asked, worry in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a dream," I mumbled.

"Do you want to do that interrogation now?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yeah..."

 **Yay! Jellal's back!**

 **Heh, and I'm back in a mood to write. I'm going to be doing a lot of writing again, and who knows, I might get back to posting weekly chapters once again! I'm so excited! Anyways, I hope it wasn't too awful being patient with me. I am really sorry about how long it's taken me to post chapters; there's just a lot that's been happening lately. Anyways, I'll try to have another chapter by next weekend.**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of chapter eight.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Hello, I'm back! Yay! Sorry it took so long to update. I was busy writing other stuff, and I was also busy wi** **th schools, then just recently, I got sick due to sleep deprivation and dehydration. Anyway, now I'm better, and I should be writing more.**

 **I admit that I've had this chapter done for a while, but I kept forgetting to post it. I honestly don't remember what's all in this chapter, so I hope it's not too terrible.**

I entered the interrogation room with Jellal close behind me; we both took our seats across from Cobra. The figure of my past had an amused smile spread across his face.

"Were you too afraid to interrogate me for the past month, Erza?" Cobra chuckled.

"No, I had different reasons," I retorted, glaring at him.

"If you're going to ask if I'm the one that put Ultear in the hospital, I'll tell you now that I'm not. However, I am the one that told the other guy where she lived, and I'll have you know that I'm the reason her life was spared," Cobra informed.

"What's the other guy's name?" I asked.

"That's information I can't tell," he smirked.

I leaned closer to him so Jellal couldn't hear and whispered, "Damnit Cobra, just tell me, and I'll make sure he takes the brunt of the punishment."

"I advise that you stop trying to get answers, Sweetie, or I'll tell your fiancé here that you're pregnant and the baby isn't his," Cobra whispered back, an evil glint in his eye.

"If you tell him, I'll make sure that you're punished for _every_ little thing you did," I growled quietly.

"That's fine by me," he responded.

I glared at him and clenched my fists. Eventually, Jellal grabbed my wrist and pulled me back.

"Don't let him get to you," Jellal murmured.

Taking a deep breath, I asked again, "Cobra, who is the person that put Ultear in the hospital?"

We got the same response from him, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you. However, I can tell you one thing..."

Cobra leaned forward, smiling in amusement, "Jellal, did you know that your fiancé is pregnant?"

Jellal looked as if he wasn't sure how to respond. He looked at me quizzically, "Erza?"

"I meant to tell you-" I started.

"Wanna know an even bigger twist? The baby isn't yours," Cobra laughed.

Of course, Jellal knew that the baby wasn't his the second he found out I was pregnant.

Jellal looked hurt and slightly angry. Meanwhile, I felt like crying.

"Why didn't you tell me, Erza?" his voice cracked. Before I could respond, he went on, "Did you think I'd yell at you or abuse you? Did you think I'd blame you?"

"No, it's not that," I whimpered, "It's... It's..."

I didn't finish speaking, I couldn't.

"I'm sorry you don't trust me enough," with that, he simply got up and started to leave, probably to keep himself calm.

"Jellal?" my voice was quiet.

The only response was the door shutting behind him as he left.

"Oh... Poor, poor Erza... Looks like he doesn't love you anymore," Cobra cooed.

"Shut up, he never said that," I felt tears pierce my eyes.

 _What if Cobra is right?_

 _No! He lies! Why would I even think that?_

"Are you sure he ever loved you? Think of all the people that walked out on you after saying they loved you," excitement shone in his eyes as he spoke.

Tears slid down my cheeks, and I heard the door open. Soon, Meredy was standing by me.

"Cobra, leave her alone," she growled, unusual anger in her voice, "You've done enough already."

"Hey there, Mer," Cobra greeted with obvious fake cheerfulness, "I see you have some fight in you now! Too bad you didn't have it earlier..."

Meredy glared at him, "You know why I didn't fight to escape! If I did, you would've-"

She looked down but quickly glared at him again.

"I really wish you had fought more. That would've made things a lot more fun, just ask Erza," he smirked.

That comment made me snap. Within seconds, I was on my feet with my hand tightly gripping his throat. Cobra gasped for air, but I didn't dare to let go.

Meredy screamed, "Erza! Let go of him!"

Tears poured down my cheeks as I tried to block out Meredy's voice. Soon, I felt my hand get pried off of him, and I was pulled into the tight embrace of a hug. As soon as I felt his hand on mine to pry me away from Cobra, I knew it was Jellal. I leaned into his embrace and cried against his chest.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I-I don't know-" I started.

Jellal cut me off, "Let's not talk about it now, okay? Just calm yourself down."

He led me out of the room while Mira and Meredy checked to see how Cobra was doing. We sat down on a couple of chairs in the hall, and Jellal patiently waited for me to calm down.

"Jellal?" I timidly looked up at him, "I was going to tell you, I really was. It's just... When I first found out, I thought you'd blame yourself... And then I didn't want you to feel like you needed to come home. I-I don't know what else to say. I guess, in a way, it's my faul-"

"Don't you dare blame yourself," Jellal growled, causing me to flinch.

"But if I hadn't insisted on walking home that night, nothing would've happened," I argued.

"This all happened before I left, right?" Jellal quizzed. I nodded, and I could feel Jellal tense up, which made me nervous, "So you're saying that, during that week you were gone _and_ _unconscious_ , some bastard got you pregnant?"

Biting my lip, I looked down at my hands. Eventually, I tasted blood.

Jellal lightly lifted my head, so I was looking at him, "Erza, I'm not mad at you. I wish you had told me sooner and that you were the one to tell me in the first place, but I most certainly am not mad at _you_."

"There's one more thing," my voice came out as a whisper, "Something about my past that you don't know yet.."

He tilted his head in confusion, but he didn't say anything for awhile.

"You don't have to tell me now if you don't want to," he sighed.

"But I feel like I need to now," I argued.

"Okay then, I'll listen," he responded.

I took a deep breath, "W-When I was younger, I'd believe it when someone said they'd help me. I'd go with them. However, that's what mostly destroyed my trust. Cobra came to me after I had taken a beating from my father and Rusty Rose... At first, I was scared, but he told me that he'd help me. After I believed him, he took me to his room and said I could hide in there until my father and Rusty Rose went to the bar. But then he... he..."

The tears returned to my eyes, and I hid my face behind my hands.

"He took advantage of your trust?" Jellal guessed. I nodded and cried more.

"Once I left him," I wiped my eyes, "and went to my room, I cried until I threw up. When I left my room, he was there waiting for me."

Jellal hugged me tightly as I cried even more.

"You better not blame yourself for any of that," Jellal whispered, "because it's not your fault at all."

I heard footsteps, and soon after, I heard Meredy's voice, "No, you get out of here. He's already had enough of a punishment from Erza. Speaking of which, go check on her."

"But-" Natsu protested.

"Go check on her, or go see if Ultear can come back from the hospital. Your choice," Meredy retorted.

Natsu walked over to me and Jellal, and he sat down next to me.

"Hey Erza, how are you feeling?" Natsu asked.

"I've been better," I responded.

We were silent for a few minutes; we just simply sat there.

Suddenly, I found myself quietly muttering, "Should we go see if we can save Ultear from— I mean, get Ultear out of the hospital?"

"Sure, if that's what you want to do," Jellal responded.

"But is it what you want to do?" I looked up at him.

"Right now, what I want to do is be by you," Jellal replied while standing up.

I nodded and looked over to Natsu, "Do you want to come with?"

"Sure," he nodded.

We left FTBI and made our way to the hospital. The ride there was fairly silent, and I really didn't mind it. I didn't feel like talking to anybody about what happened in the interrogation room, not yet. Honestly, I didn't want to talk to anyone about what happened to me.

When we got to the hospital, we nervously made our way to Ultear's room. We were only nervous because we had no idea what mood Ultear would be in, and if she was in a pissy mood, we didn't want to be instantly shouted at.

"Hi Ultear," I greeted as we entered her hospital room.

She looked at me and smiled, "Am I getting out of here now?"

"It depends on what the doctor says," Jellal responded and entered the room behind me.

"Jellal! You're back!" Ultear exclaimed happily.

"I got back this morning, and I'd say it's a good thing I did," Jellal glanced at me but quickly looked back at Ultear, "Natsu is talking to the doctors right now."

Ultear stayed silent for a few minutes. She suddenly looked at Jellal and said, "So Meredy took my advice and called you, Jellal?"

"Yeah, I guess… Meredy did call me," he replied.

"Good," Ultear nodded, "Erza, I hope you can relax more now."

"Yeah, I can, and I'm sure I'll get more sleep now," I murmured. Jellal put his arm around my shoulders and held me close; he kissed the top of my head.

After a while, Natsu shakily came into the room, "Hi Ultear. Um… You have to stay here for another hour."

"What?" she snapped, "I've been in here long enough!"

"I-I tried to get them to let you out right away, but they wouldn't," Natsu replied.

"Why not?" I asked before Ultear could respond.

"I don't know. They didn't say," Natsu shrugged.

"I'm going to go talk to them," I grumbled, turning around and starting toward the door.

"I'm going with you," Jellal followed me out the door.

Jellal and I walk over to where we saw a couple of doctors. They seemed busy talking about something, so we patiently waited for them to finish. It was only a matter of time before I lost my patience though.

"Excuse me," I started, "Would you mind telling me why my friend, Ultear, isn't allowed to leave the hospital yet?"

"We just want to be sure she's healed enough," one of the doctors' responded, not even glancing in my direction.

My eyes narrowed, and I growled, "I can tell you right now that she's healed enough."

"Calm down, Erza," Jellal put himself between me and the doctor.

"But-" I started to complain, but Jellal gave me a stern look. I settled on muttering, "You and I both know Ultear is ready to leave the hospital."

"I know, but getting pissed off won't help," Jellal responded, kissing my forehead.

He started to lead me back to Ultear's room, but just as we were about to enter the room, I stopped and leaned against the wall just outside her room.

"Are you okay?" Jellal asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just... thinking," I nodded reassuringly.

Jellal walked over to me and put his hands on my waist; he lightly kissed my forehead and whispered, "What are you thinking about?"

"Everyone's going to act weird around me when they find out I'm pregnant..." I mumbled.

"That's what you're worried about?" he asked.

"I don't want to be treated differently because of that. Especially since the baby won't biologically be your child," I frowned.

"Everyone will just worry about you more, and what's wrong with that?" Jellal shrugged.

I looked down, "I don't want people to worry about me."

Jellal lightly grabbed my chin and lifted my head. He looked me in the eyes and just stared at me for a minute, "Erza, I will always worry about you, and there's nothing you can do to keep me from worrying."

Sighing, I nodded, and we walked into Ultear's hospital room. She looked at us hopefully, and just as Jellal was about to speak, I quickly spoke up, "Great news! You get to leave!"

Jellal looked at me, clearly confused; I gave a guilty look then looked back at Ultear and Natsu.

"Does anybody have a plan on how to sneak Ultear out of here?" I slightly smiled, "I mean… I have an idea, but there's no way Jellal will let me do it."

"You don't know that for sure," Jellal responded.

"Oh, so you'll let me force myself to have a panic attack just to make a distraction so we can get Ultear out of here?" I quizzed.

"No, you're right. I won't let you," he replied quickly.

We sat and thought for a few moments. Ultear suddenly smiled and screeched in excitement. Natsu, Jellal, and I looked at her expectantly and waited for her to calm down enough to tell us what she thought of.

"Call Gray and tell him to come here immediately," she stated. Natsu quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Gray's number.

"Hey Ice-Freak, get to the hospital right now," Natsu grumbled into his phone. After a few moments, he spoke again, "It's Ultear's orders."

Within about fifteen minutes, Gray was in Ultear's hospital room trying to catch his breath.

"Hey Ultear..." he greeted, "Sorry I took so long."

She glared at him then smirked, "You're going to help me get the hell out of here. You and Natsu need to go somewhere else in the hospital, and you start an argument with him."

"Never! I don't want to work with _him_!" both boys shouted at once.

Jellal, Ultear, and I glared at them, "Too bad, you're going to."

"You can argue about how you have to work together," Jellal suggested.

The two boys left the room glaring at each other and shoving each other.

"I can't believe I have to work with _you_ ,"

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Flame Brain."

"What'd you call me, Ice Princess?"

"You heard me, Ash Tray!"

"Shut up, Icicle!"

With that, they left.

I leaned against the doorframe and looked into the hall, waiting for enough doctors to leave to try and break up the fight. Soon enough, a handful of doctors headed to the east side of the hospital.

Smiling, I turned around and faced Ultear, "You get to leave now."

Jellal and I helped Ultear out of her hospital bed; then Jellal had to exit the room so Ultear could change into her clothes. I stayed in the room just in case Ultear was more injured than we thought. As soon as Ultear was dressed, we left the hospital. Luckily, we had taken Jellal's car to the hospital, so we didn't have to worry about not having keys.

"We can assume Gray will take Natsu back to FTBI, right?" I mumbled to myself as I got into the passenger's seat of the car.

When we got back to the agency, we could tell we were already in trouble; we found out Makarov had to go pick up Natsu from the hospital and make sure Gray left. All too soon, the five of us were standing in Makarov's office.

"You five are a bunch of troublemakers," Makarov grumbled, "Natsu, Gray... This is your second time disrupting a hospital. Erza, I'm not sure how many times you've disobeyed hospital rules. Ultear, anytime you're in a hospital, you get up and walk around even when you're not supposed to. When you had a broken arm, you refused to have a cast on it until Meredy recovered. And Jellal... Well you rarely do anything wrong other than cause a ruckus here."

"Sorry sir," we all bowed apologetically.

"Alright you brats, go help the others solve this case. Let's make this guy regret making an enemy of us!" he ordered.

We worked until 10:00 that night and all went home barely able to keep our eyes open. When Jellal and I got home, I didn't even bother changing out of my work clothes; I just simply collapsed on the bed. Jellal also laid down right away after turning off the lights; I cuddled into his side and wrapped my arm around him. We fell asleep only a couple minutes after.

I ended up waking up screaming due to a nightmare a few hours after falling asleep; Jellal held me tightly as tears poured down my face.

"Erza, it's okay; you're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you," he murmured.

I dug my fingernails into his arm, causing him to gasp in pain and hug me a little tighter. Jellal lightly stroked my hair as he tried to calm me down. Once he finally did calm me down, his arm was bleeding from me scratching him, my face was red, and my eyes were puffy. I wasn't anywhere near worrying about myself though; I was worried about the fact that I had made Jellal bleed.

"Are you okay?" he asked, making sure I wasn't still panicking. He always worried about me more than he worried about himself. In fact, he barely ever worried about himself.

"Are _you_?" I countered, my eyes round with worry as I looked at the blood on his right arm.

Jellal nodded and carefully got up so he could clean the wounds, "It's not as bad as it looks. I barely even felt it."

Giving him a disbelieving look and following him, I muttered, "Quit lying."

"I'm not lying," he responded calmly as he rinsed off the blood.

I rolled my eyes and turned him so his wounded arm was facing me, "At least, let me clean up your wounds. _You_ can barely see them."

Without letting him refuse to let me help, I grabbed a washcloth and put it in some warm water; Jellal winced as I put the washcloth on his wound. As soon as I cleaned up the blood, I put some bandages on him then lightly kissed his cheek. I could see a slight blush form on his cheeks as he smiled down at me. However, I could also feel myself blushing as well.

Jellal suddenly hugged me, taking me by surprise. He shakily whispered in my ear, "Do you want to talk about what happened in the interrogation room with Cobra? I know you'd prefer not to... I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let you go with not talking about it."

He pulled me away from his body and looked me in the eye, but as soon as we made eye contact, I looked away. I wanted to look anywhere but at him. Eventually, I sighed and gave in; my response started out quiet but gradually got louder, "I told you what Cobra did to me when I was younger… I-I don't care what he says to me. I don't… But- But he had no right to say that to Meredy!"

A few tears rolled down my cheeks, and I stubbornly wiped them away; Jellal pulled me back into another hug and held me tightly against him.

"Be careful not to stretch your wounds open more…" I mumbled against his chest, causing him to lightly laugh.

I hugged him tightly and softly cried into his chest. He stroked my hair with his hands and lightly kissed my forehead, "Erza, we should get some more sleep. It's like two in the morning."

"It took that long to calm me down?" I whispered more to myself than to him.

He nodded and led me back to our room, and we laid down once again. I laid on my side with my back to Jellal as he laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling. I allowed myself to get lost in thought about the events of the previous day.

 _I'm so pathetic to have let Cobra get to me like that… Or even just allowing him to tell Jellal the thing that_ I _was supposed to tell him, not somebody else._

When I assumed Jellal was asleep once again, I allowed tears to roll down my cheeks as I reminded myself how pathetic I was. I let out soft sobs - although I tried to hold them back. Jellal rolled over and put his arm over me, pulling me slightly closer to him.

"What's wrong?" he murmured.

"I'm scared," I whispered, wiping away my tears.

"It's alright," he mumbled, "You can be scared. I'll be here for you. No matter what."

We were silent for quite some time; I almost thought Jellal had fallen back asleep. However, he spoke again after a while.

"I'll always love you, Erza,"

 **Aw! Well, that's a cute ending! XD I hope you liked this chapter, and I'll hopefully have another one posted next weekend. Well,please leave a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter.**

 **Have a nice day/night!**


	11. Chapter 10

**After** ** _ages,_** **I'm finally back with another chapter! Yipee! I wrote half of this chapter then got writer's block then got really close to ending the chapter but couldn't figure out how to end it. Sorry about that! Thank you to those of you who have stuck with me and my taking forever to update.**

"Erza, time to get up," Jellal whispered softly, gently shaking my arm. Little did he know that I had already been awake due to feeling nauseous once again. I slowly turned towards him, trying not to upset my stomach even more. He lightly kissed my nose, and I smiled, flinching slightly as I hadn't been expecting it.

Jellal chuckled, "Alright, let's get ready for work."

I nodded, slowly sitting up. As I sat up, I realized I couldn't avoid upsetting my stomach much longer. I quickly got up and headed to the bathroom. When I got to the bathroom, I knelt down by the toilet and threw up. I threw up a few more times after that.

Jellal appeared in the doorway moments later, holding a glass of water. He waited until I finished puking to give me the water as he knelt down next to me.

"You doing okay?" he asked as I quickly drank the water. I nodded and finished my water.

"Good," he smiled slightly, "Get ready for work, and I'll make breakfast."

"Alright," I murmured, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but no cake or I'll throw up again."

Jellal chuckled, "So I finally get to make you a _real_ breakfast?"

I smiled slightly, "Yup. You get to make me an actual breakfast for once."

Jellal smiled, and we got up off the ground. I made my way to our room while Jellal made his way to the kitchen.

I took my time getting ready - carefully changing into my work clothes and slowly brushing my hair, taking my time to get through each snarl. When I was finally ready to go, I left the room and came across the amazing smell of eggs and bacon.

Jellal greeted me as I entered the kitchen, and I smiled, murmuring a greeting as I sat down. It wasn't long until he placed a plate in front of me, sitting down next to me as he did so. We ate in silence. I smiled at how amazing the food tasted.

When we finished eating, we took care of the dishes and headed to work. As far as we knew, nobody else was taken. Jellal and I were silent for the first few minutes of the car ride to FTBI, but Jellal eventually broke that silence.

"Okay, so I know this is probably a weird time to bring this up, but since you're pregnant, you've had to go to the doctor's a lot, haven't you?"

"Well, I currently only have monthly doctor visits, so I've only gone once so far. My next appointment is in a few days," I explained, slightly hesitant as I tried to remember the exact date of my next appointment.

"When do you get to find out the gender of the baby?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

I smiled slightly, "Not for a while."

"Hm… Have you thought of any names?" He pressed, briefly taking his eyes off the road to look at me.

"You're really curious," I noted as we pulled into the parking lot of FTBI.

"Well of course; we're going to be raising this kid together," he replied, a small smile on his face as he pulled into his usual parking spot. We got out of the car and walked towards the building.

"When do you plan on telling everyone?" Jellal asked.

"I'm not sure," I responded, stopping where I was. Jellal stopped and turned to face me.

"What's wrong?" he questioned.

"I'm scared of how they'll react when they find out. I don't want to be treated like I'm weak or something…" I mumbled, looking down at my feet.

"Erza, these are the most understanding people we know," he started. "They won't treat you unfairly. The most you'll have to deal with would probably be people looking after your health a little more, and you wouldn't be allowed in the field as much."

I slowly nodded, "You're right… As usual. I'll have to tell them soon because it'll start getting obvious anyways."

He kissed my forehead, "It's your choice as to when you tell them."

"Okay… Thank you, Jellal. For everything," I whispered, hugging him.

"No problem," he murmured. "Now, let's go inside before we're late for work."

We headed inside and went up to the cafeteria to visit everyone. Ultear and Meredy were sitting across the room and cheerfully talking to Natsu. We walked over to them and sat down at their table; they didn't seem to notice. Instead, they just continued talking.

Apparently Natsu was planning on proposing to Lucy. When they finally noticed we were there, Natsu seemed to get even happier.

"Jellal! Erza! Do you have any ideas as to how I should propose to Lucy?" He instantly asked.

Jellal shrugged, "Sorry, I don't know. I proposed to Erza while we were on vacation; it was the first time I had gotten her out of the hotel."

Natsu frowned then looked to me expectantly.

"Sorry, Natsu," I apologized. "Have you tried asking Mira for advice?"

"She gave me a lot of complicated answers," he sighed.

Before any of us could respond, Gajeel came over to our table with a worried look on his face.

"Have any of ya seen Levy?" He asked, surprising us. Normally he called her 'Shrimp' or 'Shorty'.

We all shook our heads.

"Haven't seen her all morning," Meredy replied.

"Did you check her office?" Ultear questioned.

"Maybe she's sick today," I suggested, actually hoping that was the case.

Gajeel sighed, "She ain't in her office, and I already asked Mira if she called in sick. She didn't."

"Maybe she's just late," Jellal tried, and I could hear the worry in his voice.

"Guys!" Lucy called, quickly heading over to us. "Levy isn't answering her phone. It just goes straight to voicemail whenever I call her."

"That's not good…" I muttered more to myself than to anyone else. We all immediately started discussing what each of our tasks were.

Lucy and Gajeel were in charge of going to Levy's house to make sure she wasn't lying somewhere there and dying. Ultear and Meredy were in charge of checking the area near Levy's house to see if anyone saw or heard anything. Natsu was in charge of checking with people along Levy's route to work. We also had to talk to Macao to see if he could try to track Levy's phone. Meanwhile, Jellal and I started filling out the paperwork needed.

It was best to get at least _some_ of the paperwork out of the way right away. Of course, we didn't have all the details though, so it didn't take long. After getting the paperwork out of the way, there wasn't much we could do except wait until the others gave us information.

My phone rang, and I checked the caller ID. It was Ultear. I answered the phone, but Ultear didn't speak to me for a few minutes. I could hear Ultear and Meredy talking to each other, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. At first I was tempted to just hang up, thinking she accidentally called me. However, I then heard what sounded like sirens. Meanwhile, Jellal was trying to get me to tell him what was going on because apparently the look on my face told him it's probably really important. I didn't speak though since I wasn't entirely sure either.

" _Erza_?" Ultear finally spoke.

"Yes?" I responded, nervously biting the corner of my lower lip.

" _Don't tell Natsu yet, but…"_ She hesitated for a moment, " _Lucy and Gajeel were attacked while they were checking Levy's house. They're going to the hospital as soon as the ambulance gets here. Oh, and Levy isn't here._ "

"Okay," I replied, struggling to stay calm. "You and Meredy take care of things there. Jellal and I will head to the hospital and wait there until we can question them."

" _Alright. Be safe,_ " Ultear replied before ending the call.

"You too," I mumbled, setting my phone to the side.

"Did they find Levy?" Jellal instantly asked, and I shook my head. He asked, "Then _who_ is in the hospital?"

"Lucy and Gajeel should be on their way to the hospital shortly. I heard sirens while I was waiting for Ultear to say something. Gajeel and Lucy were attacked when they were checking the house. Levy wasn't there," I responded.

"Well, let's go," Jellal said grimly as he stood up. I got up and followed him down to the lobby and out to his car.

It was a couple hours after we got to the hospital before we could visit Lucy and Gajeel and question them. Jellal went to Gajeel's room, and I went to Lucy's.

Lucy wasn't in good condition. She was hooked up to quite a few machines, and she had stitches and bandages on her arms, chest and neck. She flinched when I opened the door to my room, and her heart rate went up. She calmed down though when she saw me.

"Hey Lucy, how're you feeling?" I quietly asked, walking over to her bedside.

She slightly smiled, but her smile seemed forced.

"Great," she murmured, her voice hoarse.

"Natsu doesn't know you're here yet, but when he does find out, I guarantee he'll be here as much as possible," I stated.

Lucy nodded, "You want to know what happened to us, don't you?"

I frowned, "Yes, but if you don't wa-"

"Don't worry. I'll talk about it. After all, it could help us find Levy," Lucy interrupted. She then began to explain to me how she and Gajeel had gone to Levy's house and found a mess inside her home. It wasn't the usual few books just scattered here and there either. There were mountains of books toppled over - even a couple of bookcases. At first, she and Gajeel had thought that maybe Levy was having trouble finding a certain book and got buried under one of the book piles, so they started digging through the books. When Lucy turned the corner to one of the bookshelves she was hit by something. Gajeel had tried to help her after hearing her scream, but he too was attacked. Then the knives came.

"Th-They somehow managed to- to d-disarm us, and- and," Lucy was shaking so I decided to cut her off.

"Okay, that's enough, Jellal is getting information from Gajeel right now, so that should clear up any blank spaces. If not, I'll have to question you again, and we can pick up where we left off," I stated.

Lucy nodded but didn't say anything more. My phone rang, and I answered the phone without checking the caller ID this time.

" _Hey Erza, where is everybody?_ " Natsu's voice yelled into the phone, startling me.

"Oh um…" I looked to Lucy questioningly.

She sighed and quietly mumbled, "Tell him."

"Well, Jellal and I are visiting Gajeel and Lucy at the hospital," I quickly muttered. Natsu didn't say anything. There was a long pause of silence before I heard what sounded like the phone hitting something; I only say that because the noise was louder than it would be had he thrown something else. The sound was then followed by muffled cursing.

There was another long pause of mostly silence except for a few background noises.

" _Be there soon,_ " Natsu's voice broke the silence before he ended the call.

"Natsu's on his way over," I stated. "I need to go talk to Jellal for a minute."

Lucy nodded, and I left the room to find Jellal sitting in the hall. He looked up upon hearing me.

"How long have you been sitting out here?" I asked, sitting next to him.

"A few minutes," he shrugged. "I figured I'd let you finish talking to Lucy on your own. Gajeel said he didn't remember much - probably from blood loss."

"Lucy mentioned there was more than one person," I commented. "We have Cobra in custody, so what I'd like to know is who is this other person?"

Jellal nodded, "Now that you mention it, Gajeel did say something about there being another person as well. Who could it be, and what are their motives? I mean, we sort of know Cobra's reasoning…"

"I want to interrogate him again," I decided, and Jellal looked at me like I was crazy.

"No way," he shook his head. "The last time you did, you almost _killed him_."

"Jellal, we have to get answers from him. It could be the only way we solve this case," I argued.

"I know; we need to solve this case. However, I'm looking after your mental health, Erza," Jellal retorted. "You know just as well as I do that Cobra knows how to get under your skin. I'll find someone else to interrogate him."

I frowned, "Fine. You do have a point…"

Jellal put his arm around me, "I'm glad you agree. Now, what did Lucy say about what happened?"

I told him exactly what Lucy told me, then he explained the few things Gajeel had remembered. It didn't seem like we were missing any information. While Jellal and I started trying to decide who would be best to interrogate Cobra, Natsu came running down the hall.

"Erza! Jellal! How's Lucy doing?" He struggled to catch his breath as he got to us.

"She's fine and waiting for you," I responded.

Natsu ran into Lucy's hospital room, and I sighed.

"We both know how Natsu will react if we have him interrogate Cobra," I mumbled. Jellal agreed, and we sat there in silence for a while.

"Maybe Makarov will know who the best person would be," Jellal suggested halfheartedly.

"Call him," I responded. "It's worth a shot."

Jellal nodded and dialed Makarov's number, getting up and moving a few feet away from me to talk on the phone. While Jellal was on the phone, my phone rang. I answered the phone to hear Gray talking really fast, and the only words I caught were 'Juvia' and 'missing'.

"Gray, slow down," I sternly replied, causing him to stop his rant. "Okay, now repeat what you just said."

"Juvia's missing. I haven't seen her at all today, and at first I thought maybe she slept in, but it's almost one in the afternoon, and Juvia never sleeps that long, so I called Ultear and some of the others to see if they knew if she was sick or something… and- and- and nobody has heard from her since last night. I'm on my way to her house now to see what's going on."

"Okay," I responded, waiting for a moment to see if he was going to add something else. "Be careful. Levy's missing too, and while Gajeel and Lucy were checking her house, they were attacked. Jellal and I will be there soon just in case, okay?"

"Alright," Gray bitterly replied. He ended the call before I could say anything else.

I got out of my seat and walked over to Jellal. His back was toward me, so I tapped his shoulder. He twisted around and gave a small smile as he must've been listening to what Makarov was saying.

"Juvia's missing," I whispered.

Jellal nodded before speaking into his phone, "Makarov, I'm going to have to call you back."

He ended the call without waiting for a response then looked to me expectantly.

"Gray's on his way to Juvia's house; I told him we'd be there soon," I quickly informed him.

"Are you sure it's okay for you to go?" He inquired.

"Of course," I answered. "Why wouldn't it be?"

He gave me the look that said, 'do you seriously need me to tell you?'. I just simply gave him a confused look in return; I really didn't realize why it wouldn't be okay for me to go.

"Gajeel and Lucy got attacked while at Levy's house; if we were to be attacked, you don't have just your own life to worry about… Or did you somehow manage to forget you're pregnant?" He explained.

I had forgotten, but it's not like we had many people to spare.

"We don't have much of choice," I argued, not admitting I had forgotten I was pregnant. "Two of us are missing, two are in the hospital, a good number of us are still working on Levy's disappearance, and the rest have other cases. There really isn't much of another option because if only you go and Gray was attacked before you get there, then you're on your own and could end up in the hospital as well."

Jellal hesitated for a brief moment before sighing, "You're right, let's go."

 **That's all for now! Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter ready sooner! Anyways, please leave a review and let me know what you thought! Have a good day/night!**


	12. Discontinuation Note

**Hey guys! It's been a while. Again. Anyway, thank you to those of you who have stuck with this story this long, and I'm sorry I've taken forever for some updates and had some crappy updates. Anyway, I've been finding every excuse possible not to write this story because I really don't like it anymore. I thought it was good while I was in middle school, but now that I'm going onto my third year in high school, I can see just how cringey the story is. I just can't get myself to write it anymore.**

 **Sometimes I had good reasons not to write, like when I would have mental health issues or school work and stuff like that, but for the past few months, I'd take one look at the folder I have all my documents for this in, and I'd quickly look for something else to do. Hell, I'd even do other things I've been procrastinating for ages.**

 **Besides just not liking this story anymore, I'm also discontinuing it because last year was a really rough year for me with various family issues and whatnot, and I'm not sure this year will be much better with me having only college classes and issues with my parents. It's just too stressful for me to work on this for now. Sorry guys. Thank you for supporting me though. Maybe once everything settles down, I'll rewrite the series, but for now, it'll be discontinued. Feel free to check out my other stories though! I've started writing some Sting x Rogue one shots, and I am working on some stuff I have yet to post on here.**


End file.
